I confronted Luke Littler's dad over what he said to him when he was 12 - and it speaks volumes
Luke Littler has enjoyed quite a meteoric rise over the last 13 months. The 17-year-old entered the 2024 World Championship as unseeded and a rank outsider, but he took the world by storm and managed to progress through to the final on his debut, eventually losing out to Luke Humphries.
He then won a number of major honours, including the Premier League, Grand Slam and World Series during his debut campaign on the PDC tour. Littler's impressive form across the calendar year led to him being one of the favourites heading into the 2025 World Championship at Alexandra Palace.
After progressing through the early stages, the Warrington-based arrowsmith lived up to expectations as the tournament wore on, winning the Sid Waddell Trophy with a thumping 7-2 win over Michael van Gerwen. He had beaten Nathan Aspinall 5-2 and Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the previous two rounds.
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And Aspinall, who enjoyed a resurgence at the World Championship following a difficult spell with dartitis, admitted that he once argued with Littler's dad after beating him six years ago.
Speaking last April, Stockport-born Aspinall told the Manchester Evening News: "The first time I came across Luke, I think it was in Chester in a tournament and I beat him 4-3," he said. "I think he was aged four! No, he was around 12 and wow, I just thought 'who is the kid?'.
"I remember seeing his dad with him and he was dead critical of him because he'd lost. I was thinking mate, he's 12, and I was in the top 16 in the world at that time and I said 'give him a break'.
"His dad said 'no, he needs to learn' and that hard talk over the years has probably produced one of the best players in our sport. He's amazing and what else can you say?
"We're all [darts players] sick of seeing his face on social media and that's a credit to him, it's not just the media who are obsessed with him, he's bringing them to him.
"He had an amazing run at the Worlds, then hit a nine-darter against me in Bahrain, then he won a tournament, then he won the first Pro Tour and Euro Tour, so that's full credit to him.
"I beat him recently and that was the first time since he's been professional. Obviously, we've practised together in the past and generally I would get the better of him, but since the Worlds, he's a completely different animal."
