Luke Littler has announced the shock decision to split with the manager who has seen him rise to darts fame after five years together.
Littler announced on Monday that he will be mutually splitting ways with ZXF Management, which he joined in 2020.
The management company is run by Martin Foulds, who has been working with the 18-year-old for the last five years to bring him up the ranks in front of the oche.
In a post on social media, he said: “I want to say a massive thank you to ZXF Management and especially Martin, for everything they’ve done for me so far in my career.
Luke Littler has announced he will be splitting from his management
| PA“We’ve had some amazing times together over the last five years, and I’ll always be grateful for the advice and support that’s helped me get to this point.
“As my career moves forward and the schedule gets busier, we’ve agreed it’s the right time for me to take the next step with new representation.
“Martin has been brilliant for me and I wish him and everyone at ZXF the very best.
The Nuke concluded his statement by saying: “Excited for what’s ahead!”
Foulds is known for managing other darts stars Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall, and was a regular presence as Littler blew away the darting world on his rise to the 2024 World Darts Championship final.
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ZXF Management manages stars like James Maddison and Chris Dobey as well as formerly managing Luke Littler
|Despite losing that match-up to Luke Humphries, The Nuke came back this year with a vengeance as he stormed to the title, beating Michael van Gerwen to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy and the £500,000 prize.
Throughout 2024, Littler earned more than £1million in prize money as he won multiple titles, including the Premier League crown.
The 18-year-old was forced to take to social media last month after he was made aware of fake accounts trying to impersonate his girlfriend, Faith Millar.
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He took to Instagram to show a fake account pretending to be the darts star’s girlfriend and call fans to action: “Everyone go report this fake account of _faithmillar, some very strange people in this world isn’t there.”
The pair have been together since March this year, and with the intense scrutiny on Littler due to his sporting achievements, the 18-year-old admitted it has had an effect on his relationship.
He revealed: “Yeah, it’s been tough.
“Obviously, at the start of last year, I was always looking at the comments.
Luke Littler was forced to take to social media last month after a fake account pretended to be his girlfriend Faith Millar
| INSTAGRAM“And she’s been having a look [at the] negativity. But I just said, ‘They’re jealous. They wanna ruin us.’
“I just said, ‘Don’t look at it and just focus on what we’ve got'.”
Littler will be back in action on day two of the World Grand Prix as he faces Gian van Veen in the tournament in Leicester.