Darts wonderkid thanks Luke Littler 'so much' and speaks out on comparisons to teen star
Luke Littler's mesmerising breakthrough has shown darts up-and-comers that anything is possible.
Teenage darts star Thomas Banks has thanked fellow youngster Luke Littler for hogging the limelight since he burst onto the world stage. The attention on Littler has allowed Banks and other darts prospects to work their way through the ranks without the pressure and expectation that come with being labelled 'the next big thing'.
Banks, who was born four months before Littler, is building a reputation thanks to a run of impressive results in the MODUS Super Series.
But Littler's fame is in a different league entirely, having caught the nation's attention with a fairytale run to the World Darts Championship final in January and gone on to win Premier League Darts at the age of just 17.
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"I thank him so much," Banks told the Weekly Dartscast. "Because I've been told by my manager, my parents and all my friends that it's good that I'm not getting as much popularity in newspaper articles and stuff, because it's just given me a freedom to just go under the radar and do my own business without any pressure.
"Let the comparisons be there, because there's obviously going to be comparisons but for me it is what it is and it's a privilege to be even compared to Luke Littler."
Littler has freely admitted that the relentless media attention was, at times, tricky to deal with during his deep run at Ally Pally and victory in the Premier League.
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But the limelight hasn't hampered his performances too much, with the prodigious talent working his way up to 22nd in the world rankings in the space of a few months.
Banks is ranked 19th on the PDC Development Tour, which is open to players aged between 16 and 24. He has also shown his talents on the senior stage as an unexpected run to the fourth round of the UK Open last year culminated in a showdown with former world champion Gerwyn Price on the main stage.
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"Honestly it is one of the best experiences, if not the best experience of my life so far," said Banks. "But what made it even more special was my mum and my dad were both there and even like my cousin and my uncle and auntie were there.
"Having them there to watch me was absolutely brilliant and knowing how much support I had that weekend was a dream come true."
