Maths homework, kebabs and potential £100m jackpot

Push the tables and chairs aside, the dartboards are back in demand across the pubs of Warrington, the hometown of teenage sensation Luke Littler.

“Every dartboard in every pub seems to be taken up,” Keith Edmonds, committee member of the Warrington Darts Organisation, tells i. “I think the whole town has darts fever at the moment.”

A fever took that hold just before Christmas has gripped more than just the town ever since. At a speed quicker than most of us mere mortals can hit the treble 20, Littler has gone from “that 16-year-old” to, well, Luke Littler – the boy on the brink of making further history at the World Darts Championship.

Now two matches away from becoming the youngest-ever darts world champion, the final outcome of Littler’s debut to remember will be known by Thursday, the day students of his former school – Padgate Academy – return from their break.

“I expect it to be the talk of the school, but not just that, it’s going to be the talk of Warrington and beyond,” Adam McMillan, principal of Padgate Academy, tells i.

“Obviously we’re incredibly proud of Luke’s achievements, and on top of his lasting legacy in inspiring others here – his sponsors provided darts boards to the school, and we were able to setup a darts enrichment club – that is going to happen on a national scale, and potentially beyond that.

“But it’s brilliant that he’s brought prominence to Warrington.”

Littler left Padgate Academy – a school both Chris Evans and Kerry Katona attended – at the end of Year 11 last summer, and Mr McMillan is eager to credit their former Head of PE Matt Kelly for playing a major part in helping the teenager navigate the balance of schoolwork and his passion for darts.

And beyond his evident talent that could yet take him to the summit of darts, it was not only PE that Littler – the current world champion at junior level – took a shining to.

“He was a polite and courteous lad, always someone who was dedicated to achieving in darts. He had an interest in maths and PE, in particular, and he was someone who was very popular with his peers,” McMillan adds.

“He was a popular member of the year group with a lot of friends. It seems so strange we’re at this point now, it’s only just over a month ago when Luke came back with his fellow students as part of our celebration evening for his year group.

“His achievements are a massive testament to his hard work. We’ve all seen the images of him playing darts at 18 months old, and that dedication to his craft embodies the values we seek to instil in students at Padgate Academy. Our motto is ‘Proud to be Padgate’, and he is someone who obviously we’re incredibly proud of.”

With that familiar Warrington twang – a dash of Scouse, a hint of Manc – the down-to-earth Littler has further endeared himself to the public during his pre- and post-match interviews, where he has confessed his love for kebabs and KFC.

The celebratory meals have resulted in Littler being offered kebabs for life, if he wins the entire worlds this week, and while that would also land him £500,000 in prize money, he has also been projected to earn more than £100m throughout his career.

“Given Luke Littler’s age and the relative success he’s had, it could be feasible for him to earn significant sums of money but as we’ve seen with other sporting stars in the past, if your sporting success doesn’t continue and you don’t get longevity then that has a major impact on your earning potential,” says sport finance expert Rob Wilson, courtesy of Stocklytics.com.

“But who knows? If he’s able to win the Championship and is able to produce ongoing sporting success over the next 20, 30, 40 years, given the sport he’s involved with, then I think absolutely his earning potential could top £100m.

“The reality is Littler can expect lots of short-term but potentially lucrative opportunities. As he builds his ongoing sporting success, entering more competitions, then I think you’ll see the veracity and value of those deals increase over the next 12 months.”