Laura Woods Stands by 'Extraordinary' Luke Littler, Issues Caution After Emotional Breakdown

LAURA WOODS fears Luke Littler is suffering from Britain’s habit of “building stars up and shooting them down”.

interview cut short after beating Luke Humphries 11-10 at the O2 Arena to win his second Premier League title in just three appearances in the competition.

Luke Littler has absolutely transformed the World of darts but now faces intense scrutiny Credit: PA Laura Woods says Littler is facing challenges that no other darts player has ever had to deal with Credit: Getty

The world No.1 pocketed the £350,000 top prize after averaging a stunning 111 in the final, and became just the fourth player in history, after Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, to win the tournament twice.

But the emotional victory came after a difficult spell for the Warrington wonderkid following his Week Nine bust-up with in Manchester.

Littler was heavily booed and jeered by sections of the crowd in the weeks that followed and later admitted he told girlfriend Faith he “didn’t want to do this anymore” after feeling “down bad”.

Presenter Woods praised Littler’s talent but warned about the pressure and scrutiny surrounding the teenage superstar.

She told talkSPORT: “Last night was very special and actually this kid, and I can call him a kid because I’m a little bit older now and I feel like I can see, he is so young.

“He is, honestly, out of this world special and last night gave quite an emotional interview about basically saying at some point he was ready to give it all up.

“When he came on the scene a couple of years ago at the World Championship properly and everyone was like, ‘wow, who is this wonderkid?’

“Gary Anderson, one of your Scots, one of my favourite players, he gave an interview and he was like, ‘everyone needs to be careful with this.’

Littler is the undisputed world No.1, but his impact goes beyond the sport as he inspires the next generation Credit: Alamy Live News.

“He was talking about the media, about not getting too much on his back and not hyping him up too much and just kind of letting him be.

“Of course it never works out that way in this country, does it? Because we’re too excited and we love these superstars that come through.

“But one thing we do really badly, I think, is we build them up, we shoot them down.”

Woods believes Littler is facing challenges no darts player has ever had to handle before.

She added: “I don’t know how old Phil Taylor was when he came on the scene.

“He was young, but he wasn’t that young and even when Michael van Gerwen started to really hit his stride, he wasn’t this young.

“This is different. So, he could go on and dominate for years and years and years, but with it comes the stresses of the Premier League, week in, week out is so demanding. It’s absolutely knackering.

“It gets to the most weathered darts players, let alone the youngsters, and you might say he’s got a little bit more energy. He’s probably got a lot more energy, to be fair, but it is a lot.

“It is a lot to deal with because you’re dealing with all the pressure of social media and when you’re a youngster, I don’t think it’s as easy as us to just go, ‘I’m just not going to go on it tonight.’”