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Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
‘There are so many in the making' – Nathan Aspinall reveals there's an army of Luke Littlers ready to take over darts
NATHAN ASPINALL reckons darts has boomed so much these past two years that 'footballers and actors' are all obsessed with what is happening on the oche. But he claims the next generation of tungsten throwers will be groomed in sports academies rather than unearthed on building sites. 4 Nathan Aspinall believes there's an army of Luke Littlers ready to take over darts 4 Aspinall was part of the celebrity cohort invited to James Maddison's golf invitational 4 The darts ace said everyone was talking darts on the golf meet The 17-week Premier League Darts reached its climax last Thursday night with Luke Humphries beating Luke Littler in the O2 Arena final. Two days before that, Prem semi-finalist Aspinall was a guest at Tottenham playmaker James Maddison's golf day at The Centurion Club with darts pal Joe Cullen. The annual invitational golf tournament – which raises funds for different causes – was attended by ex-footballers John Terry, Jimmy Bullard, Wes Morgan, Gareth Barry and comedian Michael McIntyre. And Aspinall – a two-time major winner – claims everybody was talking to him about Littler and Co. READ MORE DARTS CALL IT A DAY Darts icon retires from Premier League straight after Littler vs Humphries Stockport's world No.9 said: 'Everyone is obsessed with darts. I was at this golf day and everyone wanted to talk to me about the darts. 'I'm looking around, all these footballers and actors and stuff. Everyone was speaking to me. 'Everyone loves darts. Whatever you're a celebrity, own a company, from a council estate. Whether you're a kid. A woman. A Man. 'We all know we owe a lot of it to Luke. But also the rest of the guys that turn out week-in, week-out. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'Oh my god, John Terry shot four under gross. And he plays off five. 'Joe Cullen played as well. He was a bit worse for wear the next morning, shall we say. Luke Humphries apologises to fans after hilarious nine-darter fail leaves even rival Nathan Aspinall laughing 'Humphries was asked to play in it but he didn't want to risk injuring himself before the finals. Whereas I couldn't give a s***.' Littler emerged on the senior scene in December 2023 aged 16 and raced all the way to the World Darts final where he lost to Humphries. A year later, he went one step further and lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy at the age of 17. It is a far cry from previous world champions like Phil Taylor (ceramic factory), Gary Anderson (grate builder), Peter Wright (tyre fitter) and Rob Cross (electrician) who had other jobs before throwing darts. Yet Aspinall – who runs a darts academy in the North West – reckons there is an army of wannabe Littlers set to appear in the coming years. 4 Luke Humphries beat Littler in the Premier League Darts final on Thursday Credit: PA Aspinall, a father of two, said: 'There are so many more Luke Littlers in the making at the moment. It's mental. 'I might be 33 but I'm an old boy compared to what's coming through. 'If the money gets to like golf levels, there's no way people are doing this for 25 years. 'Guys in their early to mid-30s are the last of a generation and after us it's going to be all these kids coming through, who're fearless. 'Then it will go from this pub game, which everyone still calls it, even though it is not. And it will finally be called a sport in 5-10 years. 'But the problem you're going to have is: Where are the characters? 'You see it with footballers when they do their interviews, they are robots. They get told what to say. And they are all the same answers all the time. 'I think people like myself, I just say it as it is. It gets me in trouble a lot of time. I've had no media training in my career. 'I was thrown into the deep end. I don't want darts to get that to level. Because you do need those characters in the game. 'If everyone turns up and they are all the same, they all throw the same, no-one celebrates, does the interviews the same, it would get boring. Hopefully that doesn't happen.'
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘There are so many in the making' – Nathan Aspinall reveals there's an army of Luke Littlers ready to take over darts
NATHAN ASPINALL reckons darts has boomed so much these past two years that 'footballers and actors' are all obsessed with what is happening on the oche. But he claims the next generation of tungsten throwers will be groomed in sports academies rather than unearthed on building sites. 4 Nathan Aspinall believes there's an army of Luke Littlers ready to take over darts 4 Aspinall was part of the celebrity cohort invited to James Maddison's golf invitational 4 The darts ace said everyone was talking darts on the golf meet The 17-week Premier League Darts reached its climax last Thursday night with Luke Humphries beating Luke Littler in the O2 Arena final. Two days before that, Prem semi-finalist Aspinall was a guest at Tottenham playmaker James Maddison's golf day at The Centurion Club with darts pal Joe Cullen. The annual invitational golf tournament – which raises funds for different causes – was attended by ex-footballers John Terry, Jimmy Bullard, Wes Morgan, Gareth Barry and comedian Michael McIntyre. And Aspinall – a two-time major winner – claims everybody was talking to him about Littler and Co. READ MORE DARTS Stockport's world No.9 said: 'Everyone is obsessed with darts . I was at this golf day and everyone wanted to talk to me about the darts . 'I'm looking around, all these footballers and actors and stuff. Everyone was speaking to me. 'Everyone loves darts . Whatever you're a celebrity , own a company, from a council estate. Whether you're a kid. A woman. A Man. 'We all know we owe a lot of it to Luke. But also the rest of the guys that turn out week-in, week-out. Most read in Darts CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'Oh my god, John Terry shot four under gross. And he plays off five. 'Joe Cullen played as well. He was a bit worse for wear the next morning, shall we say. Luke Humphries apologises to fans after hilarious nine-darter fail leaves even rival Nathan Aspinall laughing 'Humphries was asked to play in it but he didn't want to risk injuring himself before the finals. Whereas I couldn't give a s***.' Littler emerged on the senior scene in December 2023 aged 16 and raced all the way to the World Darts final where he lost to Humphries. A year later, he went one step further and lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy at the age of 17. It is a far cry from previous world champions like Phil Taylor (ceramic factory), Gary Anderson (grate builder), jobs before throwing darts. Yet Aspinall – who runs a darts academy in the army of wannabe Littlers set to appear in the coming years. 4 Luke Humphries beat Littler in the Premier League Darts final on Thursday Credit: PA Aspinall, a father of two, said: 'There are so many more Luke Littlers in the making at the moment. It's mental. 'I might be 33 but I'm an old boy compared to what's coming through. 'If the money gets to like golf levels, there's no way people are doing this for 25 years. 'Guys in their early to mid-30s are the last of a generation and after us it's going to be all these kids coming through, who're fearless. 'Then it will go from this pub game, which everyone still calls it, even though it is not. And it will finally be called a sport in 5-10 years. 'But the problem you're going to have is: Where are the characters? 'You see it with footballers when they do their interviews , they are robots . They get told what to say. And they are all the same answers all the time. 'I think people like myself, I just say it as it is. It gets me in trouble a lot of time. I've had no media training in my career. 'I was thrown into the deep end. I don't want darts to get that to level. Because you do need those characters in the game. 'If everyone turns up and they are all the same, they all throw the same, no-one celebrates, does the interviews the same, it would get boring. Hopefully that doesn't happen.'
The Irish Sun
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Luke Littler, 18, full of energy for Premier League Darts finals… as teenager credits cutting out live TV appearances
LUKE LITTLER feels more relaxed heading into this season's Premier League Darts finale after cutting out the live TV show appearances. The Nuke was a boy in demand this time 12 months ago, Advertisement 2 Luke Littler has admitted cutting down on TV show appearances have helped his game Credit: Alamy 2 Littler appeared on the Jonathan Ross Show alongside the likes of Liam Gallagher Credit: Rex In May 2024, the teenage wonder showed his promise by shocking And then historically, he lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy in January 2025, 18 days before his 18th birthday. A conscious decision has been made by him and his team to reduce the number of times he appears on chats shows. Advertisement READ MORE IN DARTS 'A lot of shows, like The Jonathan Ross Show, which was really good. 'I found out while I was doing the first Premier League that the travel was Thursday night, and then on Friday night we'd have to rush down to a European Tour. 'But this year it has been a lot more relaxing, which we wanted, in terms of the shows and stuff. 'That was good for my socials last year. This year it's all about kicking on. Advertisement Most read in Darts BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 'I've 'This is one of the biggest ones out there.' Luke Littler and Luke Humphries play out 'best darts match ever' as Wayne Mardle says 'even they're finding it funny' On Thursday night, in semi-final one, Littler faces bogeyman Advertisement In the other semi-final, world No 1 Humphries tackles Nathan Aspinall, with £275,000 on the line for the eventual winner at London's O2 Arena. Another chapter in the Littler versus Humphries rivalry will be a fitting conclusion to a brilliant Premier League campaign. Littler beat England World Cup team-mate Humphries 6-3 in the final in Sheffield last week — after the pair had averaged 115.96 and 110.01 respectively in the quarters for The Nuke's 6-3 triumph in Aberdeen. Cool Hand, 30, said: 'I enjoy playing Luke as I know I have to be at my best. Advertisement 'I hope this rivalry will flourish, it's good for the game. When it was Phil Taylor and 'Of course, we want to beat each other, we want to win everything. 'But also we get on really well.'
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Luke Littler, 18, full of energy for Premier League Darts finals… as teenager credits cutting out live TV appearances
LUKE LITTLER feels more relaxed heading into this season's Premier League Darts finale after cutting out the live TV show appearances. The Nuke was a boy in demand this time 12 months ago, appearing on ITV's The Jonathan Ross Show and BBC's Comic Relief following his extraordinary run to the World Darts Championship final. 2 2 In May 2024, the teenage wonder showed his promise by shocking Luke Humphries in the Prem final, hitting an outstanding nine-darter after a key TV ad break. And then historically, he lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy in January 2025, 18 days before his 18th birthday. A conscious decision has been made by him and his team to reduce the number of times he appears on chats shows. Littler — who has more than 1.9million followers on Instagram — said: 'I did a lot of stuff for social media. 'A lot of shows, like The Jonathan Ross Show, which was really good. 'I found out while I was doing the first Premier League that the travel was Thursday night, and then on Friday night we'd have to rush down to a European Tour. 'But this year it has been a lot more relaxing, which we wanted, in terms of the shows and stuff. 'That was good for my socials last year. This year it's all about kicking on. 'I've secured top spot in the league and playing that first semi-final is so crucial. 'This is one of the biggest ones out there.' Luke Littler and Luke Humphries play out 'best darts match ever' as Wayne Mardle says 'even they're finding it funny' On Thursday night, in semi-final one, Littler faces bogeyman Gerwyn Price, who has won six of their past eight meetings. In the other semi-final, world No 1 Humphries tackles Nathan Aspinall, with £275,000 on the line for the eventual winner at London's O2 Arena. Another chapter in the Littler versus Humphries rivalry will be a fitting conclusion to a brilliant Premier League campaign. Littler beat England World Cup team-mate Humphries 6-3 in the final in Sheffield last week — after the pair had averaged 115.96 and 110.01 respectively in the quarters for The Nuke's 6-3 triumph in Aberdeen. Cool Hand, 30, said: 'I enjoy playing Luke as I know I have to be at my best. 'I hope this rivalry will flourish, it's good for the game. When it was Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld, everyone loved it. 'Of course, we want to beat each other, we want to win everything. 'But also we get on really well.'
Scottish Sun
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Luke Littler reveals supportive private message to struggling Man Utd star and request that had Maguire in hysterics
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LUKE LITTLER reveals he privately sent a message of support to a struggling Manchester United star. And he left another in hysterics with his hilarious suggestion. 4 Luke Littler has been in touch with some of the Manchester United squad Credit: Getty 4 Littler loved Harry Maguire's dramatic Europa League winner over Lyon Credit: EPA The darts world champion is a huge Red Devils supporter. He paraded the Sid Waddell Trophy around Old Trafford after beating Michael van Gerwen in January's Ally Pally final. And last year he even faced off against some of his footballing heroes at the oche at the Carrington training ground. United have endured another turbulent season which has seen Ruben Amorim replacing Erik ten Hag and the club slumped in 15th in the Premier League - but still hoping to win the Europa League. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL CUP TIED FA Cup final gets never-before-seen kickoff time after BBC and ITV clash Harry Maguire booked the Red Devils' spot in the Europa League semi-finals with his last-gasp dramatic header after being deployed as a makeshift emergency striker. And that prompted a wholesome and funny exchange between the £85million defender and the darts sensation. Littler revealed: "When Maguire scored the winner against Lyon, I put on my Instagram, 'Can you wear the No9 shirt?' "And he replied with laughing emojis." CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Littler went on to add that he is rarely in contact with the United squad. But one man he has spoken to is Mason Mount amid his return to the team after injury woes since joining from Chelsea for £60million in 2023. Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney cheers on Luke Littler at Premier League Darts in Manchester Classy Littler reached out on social media to send his best wishes to Mount. Littler explained: "I don't really speak to them [players]. "Although I don't think anyone knows this, I recently messaged Mason Mount on Instagram just to say it was good to see him back in training again. "We bought him and thought he'd be great, but he's had a few injuries. "I'd love to see him get into the starting team and score goals." Littler got his wish on Sunday as Mount started just his fifth Premier League game of the season at Brentford. And the England international enjoyed a perfect start, turning home the opener in West London on 14 minutes - only his second goal for the Red Devils. But despite his rare goal, the afternoon ended in disappointment for Mount, Littler and anyone connected to United as Brentford ran out 4-3 winners. 4 Littler played against some of the United team after his darts breakthrough Credit: Instagram @lukethenukelittler and @manchesterunited
