President of the PDC Barry Hearn warned that a tsunami was coming, with plenty of top talent, such as the new PDC World Champion Łukasz Małyr.
Littler has been compared to Tiger Woods by the darts boss after his rise last year saw him take the world by storm, with his stature even greater since winning his maiden world title.
Hearn is already seeing the impact, saying kids are already putting up scary numbers and hitting nine darts, all after Luke Littler burst onto the scene during his World Cup appearance 12 months ago.
A sport that already has its fair share of emerging talent is about to get a lot more, with Hearn warning that they are ready to knock others’ teeth out and that Littler is just the tip of the iceberg.
“I would probably compare it to Tiger Woods winning his first major,” he said Sunday times.
“Tiger played golf at the age of two. Littler has been playing darts almost since birth. There seem to be similarities. Littler attracts all the youth, commercially it has been a huge success, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “
“The guys who come here will knock your teeth out. Littler isn’t just a once-in-a-generation prodigy. He’s the guy holding the flag for the next generation of superstars, and they’re coming through in spades.
“We have already seen the beginning. On the junior tour, these kids are 10 years old and throwing nine darts. Because of the interest, mainly from Littler and his success story, children are inspired and their parents encourage them. Trust me when I say that we will have a tsunami of game-changing talent in the next five years.”
