GLEN DURRANT reckons Luke Littler could walk away from darts by the age of 30 – just at the moment he reaches his peak.
The 19-year-old superstar has revolutionised the sport since his top-level emergence nearly three years ago.
Not only is he the world No1 and banked millions in prize money, as well as millions in commercial deals, but remarkably, he has claimed 15 PDC TV titles across three seasons.
Recently there has been concern that The Nuke could walk away from the oche following nasty abuse he has received from German and Dutch crowds.
Three-time Lakeside world champion Durrant does not expect to go any time soon but said he would be “almost irreplaceable” when he does depart the scene.
He does not expect him to match or surpass Phil Taylor’s feat of 16 world titles.
Asked by OLBG when Littler might quit the oche, Durrant, 55, replied: “I’ve said 10 years. Maybe to the age of 30. And that’s probably when he’s going to be at his peak.
“When you start adding attributes like experience and things like that, I feel darts players are reaching their peak between 30 and 40. I really do.
“But I just don’t see him going the distance, because it’s the motivational side of things.
“When you get set for life, when he’s going to have a young family, do I really want to go and have to practise?
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“Do I really want to go to the European Tour? Do I really want to go to a Players Championship?
“I think he’d always miss the TV tournaments, but I just don’t see him winning 16 world titles.
“We’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives in the same breath as Eric Bristow, and , this generational talent, this 16-year-old who reached the final.
“I think he’s maturing beautifully. I love his interviews.
“I watched an interview when he reached the final, when he was 16, and I think all he said was: ‘I can’t quite believe this is happening.’
“So he’s maturing nicely, but longevity? I don’t think so.”
Littler does not always have it all his own way and last week he lost to Luke Woodhouse in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Leicester.
Yet he has shocked fans by deciding to play in the World Youth Championship on Monday in Wigan – age-wise, he is still eligible for the competition – where the top prize is £15,000.
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The teenager has the option to pick and choose when he plays these days, especially given his unassailable position at the top of the rankings.
Littler transcends the sport and his fame has gone global, more so than anybody else in the sport before him.
thrower Durrant – the PDC Premier League champion in 2020 – added: “If he walked away tomorrow, he’d be an incredible loss. Littler feels a little bit special.
“I don’t think he’s a darts player anymore. I think he’s a celebrity. He’s one of the most recognised people in the UK.
“And it’s very difficult to try and talk darts generally when you’re talking about Littler, because he’s just so different to everybody else.
“(Winning) is a drug. So the answer, I think, is no. I think he would miss it.
“Gone are the days where he worries about money now, because he’s probably already got money to set him up for the rest of his life.
“But that feeling of lifting a trophy, it’s a real adrenaline rush that I think would be impossible to walk away from.
“Who knows what he’s got behind the scenes, endorsements and other things he’s doing?
“Do I think he’ll walk away? I don’t think he will. Would he be a massive miss? Almost irreplaceable.”
