Luke Littler has been advised to avoid the ‘sharks’ who could wreck his darts career. After his incredible run to the last World Championship final and winning major tournaments like the Premier League and the Grand Slam, the 17-year-old is one of the hottest properties in British sport.
He has banked in excess of £1million in prize money over the last 12 months on top of signing lucrative commercial deals, making him one of the wealthiest teens in the country. Amid his burgeoning fame, the Warrington thrower has been urged to tread carefully by darts icon Bobby George.
Still active on the exhibition circuit, George, 78, was known as the ‘King of Bling’ for his habit of walking to the stage bedecked in jewellery during a career which spanned 30 years. He told Gambling Zone: “I’m sure he wants to spend it [money] on the things that we all did.
“Nice car, nice clothes, sometimes it can be difficult when all of those things come at once. The reality is, it’s hard for people to expect someone like Luke to behave in exactly the same way he did before Ally Pally last year because he turned into a superstar at that tournament.
“His life changed and he couldn’t probably do all the normal things he used to do. Money and fame, it can be awkward for some people. People can change.
“My advice to him would be to simply keep his feet on the ground and do exactly what he’s done all year: Play darts and don’t get involved in people saying, ‘Sign this contract, do this’ because there’s a lot of sharks out there.
“When the bees are about, the sharks come out. Luke needs to be very careful who he signs contracts with and who he has around him guiding his career. If his management haven’t been involved with darts, it can be difficult. You need the experience to guide someone.”
Littler’s career is overseen by ZXF Sports Management, who also look after the likes of former World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey.
George said: “The people around him should be focussed on him becoming the best possible darts player he can be, not earning loads of money out of him.
“Just keep your feet on the ground, don’t grow up too quickly. You can go from a hero to zero overnight in darts. If he keeps his head down, has the right people around him and stays dedicated to the game, he’s going to make a lot of more money in his career that boy.”
