The rise of teenage world champion Luke 'The Nuke' Littler is inspiring a new generation to pick up darts, with young players across Northern Ireland flocking to academies. Littler, who became world champion in 2025 at age 18 or 17, has driven what 11-year-old Oscar calls 'the Luke Littler effect,' making young people want to get into the sport. Oscar, who took up darts last year and has 'fallen in love' with it, plays football and rugby too but finds darts 'brilliant' and good for maths. He joined the Carrickfergus Darts Academy in May, plays every Sunday, practices two to three hours daily at home, and is competing in qualifiers for the Northern Ireland's JDC national team.
Academies report explosive growth, with Gregg Fowles noting that since setting up the Carrickfergus academy in 2020, it has been 'off the scale,' providing a safe space for kids beyond just tagging along with family. In Larne, about 25 young people gather every Wednesday, including nine-year-old Kayden, who started one or two years ago and is inspired by his grandad. John O'Toole, who runs the Larne Darts Academy, said youth numbers have risen massively; after promoting youth darts, they now have over 300 youth players across Northern Ireland, with attendees as young as seven. He credits the Covid-19 lockdowns and the rise of Littler and Northern Ireland's Josh Rock for inspiring young people to try the sport.
Older youths are also diving in, with 18-year-old Brady Hall starting at the academy a few years ago after his mum saw an ad and now coaching. He took up darts after seeing Joe Cullen win the Masters in 2022 on TV, initially for fun but now more seriously. Brady says youth darts growth is 'hard to keep up with,' with 'more and more every week' and many fantastic youth players better than half the adult players. Fourteen-year-old Dylan, who joined for fun but now takes it seriously, finds it frustrating but watches foundation tours and aims to compete in them.
Meanwhile, Littler is heading to Belfast's SSE Arena on Thursday night for the fourth round of the Premier League, with tickets sold out. The quarter-finals feature Antrim's Josh Rock facing Gian van Veen, Littler taking on Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting up against current champion Luke Humphries, and Michael van Gerwen facing Gerwyn Price. The show starts at 7pm, with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.
