Luke Littler has 'two different personas' as behind-the-scenes details emerge on Premier League darts star

Luke Littler has 'two different personas' as behind-the-scenes details emerge on Premier League darts star

WATCH NOW: Luke Littler confronted by opponent during Belgian Darts Open

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 25/03/2024

- 13:38

The youngster's manager says he behaves differently away from the oche

Luke Littler's manager insists the teenage darts sensation has two separate personalities - one that fans never get to see.

The 17-year-old has taken the darts world by storm since bursting onto the scene at the World Championship in December last year.


Littler has already won three PDC tournaments, triumphing at the Bahrain Masters, his first Players Championship and the Belgian Darts Open.

He has hit a nine-darter in each of his three tournament victories and entertained the crowd with some of his outlandish finishing.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler's manager days the darts star has two different personalities

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Littler was accused of being arrogant earlier this month by Ricardo Pietreczko after attempting an unusual route to take out a score.

But his manager, Martin Foulds, says that couldn't be further from the truth.

Foulds told the BBC: "It's just the way he is - he just enjoys playing darts, it's fun for him, he loves entertaining.

"You've got three darts in your hand, it's up to you which way you go. There's no right or wrong way."

But Foulds admits that Littler has 'two different personas' and is much more shy away from the oche.

He added: "You've got the off-screen, off-stage one - he's quite shy and humble, just wants to talk with his mates, play a game, spends a lot of time on his phone like most teenagers.

"But when he gets on the stage it's like something switches - he's in his element.

"He loves the arenas, the more fans the better. He seems to thrive with bigger crowds."

Littler has had an extremely busy start to 2024 and is eight weeks deep into his maiden Premier League campaign.

Foulds says his early success means he doesn't have to enter as many of the smaller tournaments.

"It's given him such an advantage [winning those events] - he's pretty much in every TV event for the rest of the year without throwing another dart," he said.

"There's no off-season in darts. You've got to travel to these events - you don't just time-warp and you're in Belfast, Graz, Munich, Rotterdam.

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Luke Littler

Luke Littler has had a stunning rise to darts stardom in recent months

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"It's unsustainable for any player to travel and play all of those events. When you're playing in the Premier League especially, travelling can take its toll on anybody.

"He's still a teenager, still 17 - if he wasn't playing darts, he's be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school.

"So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can."

Foulds also manages fellow Premier League player Nathan Aspinall.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler has wowed the crowd with his performance since bursting onto the scene

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But he admits his life has changed since Littler's stunning rise to stardom.

"It's just another level, completely alien to anything that has happened in the darting world," he said.

"I probably spend 70 per cent of my working day dealing with Luke-related enquiries - calls, messages, Zooms, Teams meetings, media requirements."

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