Luke Littler’s impact sparks significant increase in youth darts participation

Following the remarkable success of teenage darts prodigy Luke Littler, the count of young individuals participating in darts has seen a twofold increase. Littler’s achievement of reaching the PDC World Championship final at the age of 16 led to a significant surge in online engagement with the sport, culminating in him being named BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year 2024 on Tuesday night. Social media personalities have also contributed to this trend, with the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) in Wales asserting that darts is now among the most rapidly expanding sports for children. As the 2025 World Championship commences at Alexandra Palace in London, the sport’s appeal is anticipated to expand even more. A junior academy established in April in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, has already reached its full enrollment capacity. Jac, 12, who participates weekly at the Cwm Taf Arrows Darts Academy, stated, “I was born to play darts.” He added, “I love darts because it’s such a captivating sport and it gets the whole family involved.” Iestyn, 15, counts himself among those motivated by Littler, who is now 17, and he also engages in the sport with his family outside of academy sessions. “My mother is my inspiration because she pushes me on when I’m not doing so well,” he commented, quoting her as saying, “She says ‘C’mon boy you can do this’.” He further noted, “Luke Littler has come on the scene and made darts popular and it’s huge now like it was back in the day.” Bailey, 14, shared his experience: “I just watched it as a kid with my nan and bamp, and dad bought a dartboard, so I started throwing and I just found it interesting and when I saw Cwm Taf arrows open, I asked to join. We’ve become like a family here, it’s amazing.” The WDC final attracted an audience of 3.7 million viewers, marking it as Sky’s most-watched non-football sporting event. Beyond the substantial viewing figures, both ticket purchases and engagement on social media platforms have also seen an uptick. The surge in popularity has also been propelled by social media influencers. The Bull Hitters, a group of four online darts content creators situated in Dorset, feature brothers Dan and Bailey McNamara, who hail from Tir-y-Berth in Blaenau Gwent. Dan, 30, known by the moniker “Welsh Jesus” due to his long hair and beard, stated, “Our goal is to keep the interest in darts during the quiet period.” He elaborated, “Social media influencers keep the eye on the sport because when it’s not on TV fans can now watch it on TikTok and YouTube.” He added, “Luke Littler has brought all these youngsters to the game and hopefully we can play our part in keeping them interested.” They have developed an online darts game that incorporates common household objects. Dan recounted, “I used to sit at the Christmas dinner table as a kid and think could I throw this carrot like a dart.” He continued, “So we’ve made darts from carrots and household objects. I can’t use chop sticks anymore because I’ve turned them into darts.” Dan’s brother, Bailey, had been involved in football academies since the age of four, but a career-ending injury two years prior led him to shift his focus to darts. He remarked, “We just want to make darts as big as we can,” and added, “What Luke Littler did was massive for darts and we are trying to sustain the interest when tournaments aren’t on.” In Wales, the quantity of junior academies has doubled since Littler’s rise to prominence. The presence of the Bull Hitters in Hirwaun also made a strong impression on their youthful admirers. Bailey commented, “I watch them online, it’s unbelievable they’re here.” Lisa Thomas, the manager for JDC Wales, observed: “The growth in six months has been incredible we need more areas to come on board and start academies because of the demand.” The Nodor group, a family-operated darts company based in Bridgend, which owns brands such as Winmau and Red Dragon Darts, is also experiencing positive effects from this surge. The company has divested a majority stake to the private equity firm Inflexion, with media reports valuing the transaction at approximately £100 million. Huw Ware, a PDC darts referee currently officiating at The WDC championship in London, remarked on “an explosion” in the sport’s popularity. He noted, “In Wales the depth of quality started around 2014 with Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton and now we have other young players coming through.” He further explained, “Darts was going well with Gerwyn and Jonny on the big stage but combine that with the Luke Littler effect and the popularity is reflected at academies like this packed with players.”