Darts Shop Experiences Sales Surge Following Luke Littler’s Rise to Stardom

The global prominence of teenage darts sensation Luke Littler has led to a darts shop, managed by his childhood coach, needing to relocate to larger premises due to its “booming” operations. Karl Holden’s establishment, St Helens Darts Shop, is set to move to the center of the Merseyside town after its sales dramatically increased since Littler, at 16 years old, reached the World Championship final in January. Mr. Holden, who has operated from the current location for 18 years, commented, “It’s been amazing – I thought the novelty would’ve worn off in February after the Worlds.” He added, “It does every year but it carried on through.” Littler, now 17, is considered the favourite by bookmakers for the 2025 PDC World Championship, scheduled to commence later at London’s Alexandra Palace. Mr. Holden reported that during last Christmas, he was selling approximately 30 darts sets daily, but is now moving 100 sets per day in anticipation of the upcoming festive season. This year, over 100,000 children are anticipated to receive Littler-branded magnetic dartboards as Christmas presents. The new retail space is slated to open in the new year and is projected to quadruple in size at its new location. Mr. Holden stated it would be “much better for the customers otherwise we wouldn’t move as we love this place.” Furthermore, his local darts academy has a waiting list of 40 young individuals. Littler first visited the St Helens’ shop when he was 11 and was one of many pupils coached by Holden. Since the Warrington native captivated the nation with his performance in the World Championship, he has secured 10 titles globally. His influence has contributed to a national doubling of junior academies, spurred expansion initiatives for the World Championship, and attracted interest from Saudi Arabian investors. Littler recently expressed that he “can’t quite believe” he outranked the King in Google’s most searched-for lists in the UK this year. Mr. Holden, who has supported numerous elite players throughout their development, quipped, “They’ve got managements and things like that and they don’t need my help any more – I’ve done what I can.” For the best of BBC Radio Merseyside, listeners can tune in on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story ideas can also be submitted to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.