STEVE BEATON would not be surprised if Luke Littler one day jacked in his darts and became a professional gamer.
Littler, 19, has banked millions of pounds from the sport, on and off the oche, since he turned pro in January 2024.
Luke Littler has transformed the world of darts but there is a risk he could get bored of always winningCredit: Alamy
Steve Beaton admits the unique thing about Littler is that he sees the game differently to othersCredit: Getty
Should he win the World Cup of and European – both held in Germany later this year – then he would have done a remarkable clean sweep of all major PDC trophies.
It is extraordinary what he has done at such a young age and the records he continues to set.
But Beaton, a former Lakeside world champion, could see a scenario where he moves away from the arrows and follows his love of playing online on his Xbox on a full-time basis.
The Bronzed Adonis, who turned 62 on Easter Sunday – said: “It’s early days yet in his career, but he’s such a good player. He just sees all these different ways of throwing.
“At the end of the day, you can only hit 9, 12 or 15 darts. Sometimes you can be left with a couple of darts in your hand. But he’s very consistent.
“Okay, he might lose the odd one, but I mean nobody’s perfect.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how long he goes on for. Maybe after four or five years, he will have had enough.
“Maybe he will want to go gaming, you know. He likes doing all that.
“Maybe somebody will approach him to do that or something else.”
Littler will be next in action against Stephen Bunting in the Premier League in Brighton on Thursday night.
And there is a prospect he could meet Dutchman in the semi-finals – the pair had a major bust-up last week in Manchester.
Norfolk-based Beaton has seen a lot in his time on the circuit and he reckons the emergence of Littler, the two-time world champion, is sparking a new generation of talented tungsten throwers.
Beaton said: “I didn’t think darts could get any better. But everywhere I go now, the kids want to play darts.
“Academies are popping up left, right, centre. I never thought it could get bigger but it definitely has.
Littler has won it all and his extraordinary personality is the driving force in the world of dartsCredit: Getty
“Luke has made it that big I think. And they’re all just as good as him.
“They might be just a little bit below par, but they can all hit nine and 12-darters all of the time.
“It’s just how they deal with the pressure like he’s dealt with it.
“When they first put him in the Premier League, people said, oh, maybe the Premier League will ruin him.
“Well, it just made him stronger, and he just proved a point there when they put him in it.
“Sometimes Luke doesn’t like a few things that the crowd say to him, when they are singing.
“But he and everybody else have just got to get on with it and try to ignore it. You could always put Gerwyn Price’s earphones on – but those have been banned.”
Beaton will be next seen on Pluto TV on April 20-25 when he hooks up with Fallon Sherrock as part of the third edition of the International Pairs Week on the MODUS Super Series.
The duo will wear an England shirt in the 12-nation, 24-player tournament and John O’Shea (Ireland), Richie Burnett (Wales) and David Munyua (Kenya) are the other notable names involved in the international field.
The two met on the same oche at Ally Pally in the first round of the 2022 and Beaton prevailed 3-2 in what was a nervy and tight affair.
Beaton said: “Fallon’s played in the MODUS loads of times. I’m looking forward to playing with Fallon and hopefully winning.
“I met her at the Worlds and that was hard. I remember when it was one set each and I looked up at the averages and she was averaging 100, the same as me.
“I was thinking: ‘Oh God, I just can’t get rid of her here.’ She’s a very good player.
“There’s a few good lady players coming through now and the men are going to have to watch out. I’m hoping she puts the fear up a few of them that week.”
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