Luke Littler might well have made it as a professional footballer had he chosen to go down that route instead of playing darts after the emergence of new footage of his impressive technique with a ball at his feet. The 17-year-old is unquestionably the biggest name in his sport right now following his incredible rise to prominence over the last few months.
Littler has scooped over £270,000 in prize money since making his senior debut at the World Darts Championship, where he became the youngest player to reach the final. However, there is evidence to suggest that he could have been earning that figure as a weekly wage had he pursued football instead of darts.
It is no secret that Littler is a huge football fan, often posting about his love of Manchester United and mocking their arch rivals Liverpool on social media. He also seems to be more than capable with the ball at his feet, as shown during a recent appearance on a YouTube video with content creators Angry Ginge, Pieface and FG.
During a crossbar challenge, Littler made it look easy by hitting the bar in two consecutive attempts before narrowly missing with his third effort. He also displayed great technique when taking shots at goal, at one point curling the ball into the top corner from well outside the box.
Littler is clearly a decent football player but it will never be known if he could have made it as a professional with the right coaching and development. He played for his school team as a child but chose to hang up his boots after being advised by his father to hone his natural talent for darts.
In an interview on BBC Radio 2 earlier this year, Littler explained: “I played football beforehand, every kid, every young person wants to be a footballer. My dad said: ‘Hang your boots up, let’s focus on darts’. I was like: ‘I love it though’. My dad said: ‘I think you have the ability to be a professional, you’ve got high chances.’
“Six years later, here I am. My dad just knew. I stopped playing football and just focused on darts and this is where I am now, playing on the greatest stage of them all.”
His father, Anthony, previously told The Times: “He was a good footballer. He loved football, all kids do, but I said to him at nine: ‘Hang your boots up. Concentrate on darts. You can still play football here and there, but if there’s a darts comp on at the weekends, go to darts first. Make that your priority’.
“I thought he could make it at darts and he has done. When I said to him: ‘You need to keep playing darts’, he was OK with it. We put him in every competition that was online. Sometimes you’re getting up at 7am on a Saturday, my only day off, just to play darts. There were no lie-ins.”
