Luke Littler has made a rapid rise to the summit of the darting world and legend of the sport Raymond van Barneveld has discussed what he’s like to practice with off the oche.
Raymond van Barneveld is an icon of the darting world and his rivalry with Phil Taylor during the mid to late 2000’s captured a whole new level of coverage.
Barney was responsible for huge growth as many were tuning in to watch him win several ranking event titles.
The 57-year-old is one of the most successful players to ever pick up a dart and has five World Championship titles to his name since moving over to the PDC in 2007.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler is looking to follow in similar footsteps, if not, surpass the legacy of the giant Dutchman.
Littler’s emergence onto the PDC stage in the World Championships took the darting world by storm after reaching the final. The 17-year-old has since capitalised on the hype and talent by destroying the Premier League in his debut campaign – currently eight points clear at the top.
After describing him as his idol, the youngster played against Barney in the World Championship last 16, with the teenager coming out on top.
To many, this made the whole darting world stand up and realise how special of a talent is, while Barney noticed something about his backstage demeanour.
Raymond van Barneveld says what Luke Littler is like backstage
Speaking on the Dartpraat podcast, Barney has explained how the new generation of darting players – including Littler – enjoy practising alone.
He said: “It’s a new batch of people. They isolate themselves completely. Littler too,”
“That boy is just coming through, but is always on his phone. Earplugs in. Even when throwing in. Then you indicate right away that you don’t want to be bothered.”
Luke Littler is there to win titles, not make friends
For a teenager to come into a sport where everyone is much older than him must have been daunting.
As someone who regularly plays Xbox in his spare time and watches TikTok, he naturally doesn’t have a lot in common with the older dart players.
For someone as talented as Littler, this isn’t a problem, as he lets his darts do the talking.
He’s recognised that darts is a lonely sport and only you are in control of your destiny, hence why he prefers practising with his earphones in.
Luke Humphries is another player who also carries out this routine, and he’s the current world champion, so it’s a formula that works.
Littler will be hoping to make it his fifth nightly win of the Premier League tournament in Leeds this Thursday.