Teenage darts sensation avenges world final defeat by Luke Humphries before falling to Michael Smith in Cardiff
It was, in truth, everywhere you looked. The Luke Littler merchandise was vast and plentiful but it was topped by the rather peculiar sight of a custom-made shirt with his face adorned all over on it. You can now, somewhat unnervingly, even purchase a Littler-themed Valentine’s Day card. Make no mistake about it, Littlermania has taken over darts and the sport has enjoyed an incredible momentum shift in the past few weeks thanks to the performances of one fearless teenager. This Thursday evening in Cardiff helped reinforce that even further.
The sport’s most prestigious invitational event, the Premier League, has long been one of the highlights of the darting calendar and is often played in front of sell-out crowds all over Europe. But this, the opening night of the 2024 edition, felt different for one very obvious reason. Some things never change, of course, such as the vociferous roar for the hometown hero, in this case Gerwyn Price, as the darting roadshow descended on the Welsh capital.