Luke Littler: the mind and the making of darts’ youngest world champion

January 4

Darts is a sport where you just cannot afford nerves to get to you – a tremble is often the end of a treble.

What sets Littler apart from his rivals is the fact he has been able to master essential calmness at such a young age – and amid an explosion of interest in the sport and him as a direct result of his arrival on the big stage a year ago.

“It’s like water off a duck’s back really, the way he just sort of takes it all in his stride,” sports psychologist and former women’s world number one darts player Dr Linda Duffy told BBC Sport.

“It’s almost like he’s not really 100% sure of what’s going on around him. He’s in that sort of bubble where he’s just thinking about what he needs to do, which is fantastic.

“He’s certainly very cool, calm and collected under pressure.

“What a lot of people who don’t play darts don’t understand is how difficult it is to play. You’ve got all this adrenaline, all the emotions whirling round inside you and you have to stay as steady as a rock to throw that dart properly at the target.”

Littler admitted he had felt nervous after going 2-0 up in Friday’s final but told himself to “just relax”.

The only time he has really let any pent-up emotions spill over in the past year was after his opening win over Ryan Meikle last month, when he became tearful during his post-match interview and sought out hugs from his parents.

It was, perhaps, one of the few times he has looked more like his age.

His lifestyle away from the oche, though, is much more in line with plenty of teenagers – video games, football, fast food – and it is this that could also be playing a part in his mental strength, according to Duffy.

“This all helps him when it comes to having to cope with pressure because he knows how to relax and get some downtime in,” she said.

Littler’s mental approach is founded on a “very deep and absolute trust” in his ability, according to sports psychologist Martin Perry.

“What he’s doing all the time, he’s trying to fine-tune the feeling to get into the quality of focus and concentration where it feels like everything’s happening automatically,” he said. “You’re playing unconscious darts and you’re scoring big and making checkouts.

“Luke’s calmness is really invaluable in allowing him to stay in a bubble of high-focus concentration, which means he can repeat high-scoring sequences regularly.”

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