Youth darts academy feels Luke Littler effect

A sports club says there has been a "big surge in interest" after teenage darts player Luke Littler won the PDC World Championship.

Darts Academy North East, in Blyth, Northumberland, caters for children from the age of seven and was averaging about 30 players.

But that figure has now risen to 50, with about 25 children on the waiting list.

Chairman Simon Tate said: "A lot of our children are very interested and determined, they play for hours and hours."

Littler is the sport's youngest ever world champion and reached the finals of the same competition in 2024 when he was only 16.

"For years there was a bit of snobbery around darts, it was just seen as overweight men in smoky pubs, but Luke has shown young people can play too," Mr Tate said.

"It's much more professional, a lot of the players don't drink and you can make serious money.

"It's not just Luke, we've got some young local players like Callan Rdyz and Chris Dobey doing really well and they're very approachable guys."

Ryan Kent, from Alnwick in Northumberland, is hoping to set up a youth darts academy in his town.

"We've noticed so many young people talking about Luke Littler and playing, and the pubs are actually quite full," he said.

"People were saying we should set up something for the younger players and I just thought I'd try and give it a go.

"We've got a couple of places in mind, so if there's interest, we'll set something up and get the kids along just to have a bit of fun and see how it grows."

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