Hidden among the millions of YouTube uploads from 2009 is a singular grainy video of Luke Littler. Still in nappies, it shows a toddler throwing magnetic darts at a board strapped to his living room wall as Snap’s I’ve Got The Power plays in the background.
While Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent audition from that year was on its way to being viewed 260 million times, this clip entitled ‘Phil Taylor’ had barely broken 1,000 views when Mail Sport discovered its existence on Christmas Day.
Watching Littler, who started slinging arrows at 18 months but is now 16 years old, it does little to dismiss Wayne Mardle’s assertion that the English teenager who will feature in the World Darts Championship’s third round tomorrow evening is ‘naturally talented’.
Even back then, there were signs of a technique to the throw, with the flick of the wrist ensuring the 20s are flowing as sure as the cans of Tango he has been drinking to celebrate his wins at Alexandra Palace. At one stage, little Littler tries a no-look throw and misses the board entirely. Afterward, a woman’s voice, presumably his mum, Lisa, tells him to ‘calm down’.
Yet Littler has shown no signs of calming down as ‘The Nuke’ prepares to take on Matt Campbell at Ally Pally. He is already guaranteed £25,000, though the bookmakers have slashed their odds on him taking home the ultimate £500,000 prize, as fairytale as that would be.
Some took offense at Mardle’s suggestion that Littler is the ‘most naturally gifted player I’ve ever seen’. Yet the Sky Sports commentator did not mean that as a slight. ‘His throw is natural and not contrived or robotic,’ Mardle said in clarification. ‘Of course, he’s practiced a lot, they all have.’
There is nothing wrong with having a ‘natural’ look alongside your talent. Usain Bolt made it look natural when he was flashing a sly grin while sprinting 100 meters at Rio 2016. Michael Jordan made his leaps look natural. Pele Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi made their magic look natural. That is what the great ones do.
Littler has a long way to go before he can be considered great, of course, but there is a natural feel to the way he throws. No shakes. No hesitation. He sees what he needs, goes for glory, and has been nailing it enough at Ally Pally to earn comparisons with Taylor, the title of that 2009 video.
Four years before Littler was born, David Moyes, then manager of Everton, said of Wayne Rooney: ‘Everything he has now is completely natural... the next two or three years will be vitally important.’
The same goes for Littler. At two years old, the darts were magnetic. At three, he graduated to the proper spikes.
Now 16, he is introducing himself to the world stage, the boy who is battling with the men at Ally Pally. Whatever happens tonight, it feels as if this is the start of something special if Littler can stay true to his trajectory.
While Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent audition from that year was on its way to being viewed 260 million times, this clip entitled ‘Phil Taylor’ had barely broken 1,000 views when Mail Sport discovered its existence on Christmas Day.
Watching Littler, who started slinging arrows at 18 months but is now 16 years old, it does little to dismiss Wayne Mardle’s assertion that the English teenager who will feature in the World Darts Championship’s third round tomorrow evening is ‘naturally talented’.
Even back then, there were signs of a technique to the throw, with the flick of the wrist ensuring the 20s are flowing as sure as the cans of Tango he has been drinking to celebrate his wins at Alexandra Palace. At one stage, little Littler tries a no-look throw and misses the board entirely. Afterward, a woman’s voice, presumably his mum, Lisa, tells him to ‘calm down’.
Yet Littler has shown no signs of calming down as ‘The Nuke’ prepares to take on Matt Campbell at Ally Pally. He is already guaranteed £25,000, though the bookmakers have slashed their odds on him taking home the ultimate £500,000 prize, as fairytale as that would be.
Some took offense at Mardle’s suggestion that Littler is the ‘most naturally gifted player I’ve ever seen’. Yet the Sky Sports commentator did not mean that as a slight. ‘His throw is natural and not contrived or robotic,’ Mardle said in clarification. ‘Of course, he’s practiced a lot, they all have.’
There is nothing wrong with having a ‘natural’ look alongside your talent. Usain Bolt made it look natural when he was flashing a sly grin while sprinting 100 meters at Rio 2016. Michael Jordan made his leaps look natural. Pele Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi made their magic look natural. That is what the great ones do.
Littler has a long way to go before he can be considered great, of course, but there is a natural feel to the way he throws. No shakes. No hesitation. He sees what he needs, goes for glory, and has been nailing it enough at Ally Pally to earn comparisons with Taylor, the title of that 2009 video.
Four years before Littler was born, David Moyes, then manager of Everton, said of Wayne Rooney: ‘Everything he has now is completely natural... the next two or three years will be vitally important.’
The same goes for Littler. At two years old, the darts were magnetic. At three, he graduated to the proper spikes.
Now 16, he is introducing himself to the world stage, the boy who is battling with the men at Ally Pally. Whatever happens tonight, it feels as if this is the start of something special if Littler can stay true to his trajectory.
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