Luke Littler 'impossible to handle' as Barry Hearn opens up on meeting with darts star
Luke Littler has come under fire in recent weeks following his World Matchplay performance.
Former PDC chairman Barry Hearn has sung the praises of Luke Littler following his sensational breakthrough year.
The 17-year-old has shaken the world of darts with his superb displays, finishing second at the World Championship before going on to prove that his performances were no fluke with victories around Europe and a credible Premier League tournament.
Littler has endured a sub-par run of form lately though, being dumped out of World Matchplay in the first round by Michael van Gerwen. With the bar for the teen being set so high, questions have already started to be raised about how the teen will respond to this lull.
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But Hearn has hit out at Littler’s critics in an interview with talkSPORT, labelling The Nuke a ‘genius’ following his rise to fame. He said: “I have sat down with him once and I really like Luke.
"He's a very sensible man and has a good team around him giving him good advice. He's 17 years old, and he's probably earned a million since January. There is only one Luke Littler per million of darts players, one Michael Van Gerwen and one Luke Humphries.
"They will all have days when they are slightly below par. You can't criticise geniuses, it is wrong. I have to allow him his own freedom, every genius is impossible to handle because they are so original."
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Littler has received plenty of criticism following his disappointing display in Blackpool, albeit against one of the best players in darts history in the shape of Van Gerwen. James Wade and Wayne Mardle are among those to question how the youngster will respond to the downturn in form.
The youngster is yet to showcase how he copes when faced with adversity at the oche, and Kim Huybrechts is the latest star to believe we will see ‘the real Littler’ when he looks to bounce back to form.
He told the Double Top podcast: “He's been on cloud nine for a while, a lot of people thought this would end sooner, me too by the way.
"For now, he is still on that cloud, but one day that bubble will be burst and then we are going to see the real Littler. He is going to experience a lot of ups and downs in his career anyway, so it remains to be seen how he is going to deal with that.”
