Luke Littler has revealed that he was previously accused of 'cheating' because he was so good at online darts tournaments.
The 17-year-old has also admitted that his time as a professional darts player could be short-lived, saying he could retire in 10-15 years.
Littler has taken darts to a whole new level since he burst onto the scene at the World Championship at Alexandra Palace in December.
He made the final of the tournament in early January and has already won two competitions since becoming a professional player.
Luke Littler says he was previously accused of cheating by online darts players
Getty
Littler has impressed in his first four weeks in the Premier League after earning a wildcard spot, picking up seven points to date.
He has played darts since he was an infant and has been tipped for several years by professional players to have a successful career.
But no one would have expected the immediate rise he would have following his debut appearance at Ally Pally.
Littler honed his skills during the Covid lockdown, spending hours a day using the scoring system Scolia.
He would then enter tournaments online where opponents would accuse him of cheating because he was so good.
Littler told The Times: "I was doing four, five hours a day, every day. Nothing else to do. Started getting into different computer bots.
"The fella that organised competitions locally would do them online at weekends. You paid your tenner to enter.
"I won, and a few people said I was cheating. ‘Can he prove it when we all come back?’ they said.
"I was getting better and better and then we came out and it was back to normal. All of the people, out from their kitchens and bedrooms, into the pub and the darting world.
"And I proved it, didn’t I? I don’t get why I would cheat. If you’re that good, you don’t really need to."
Legendary 16-time world champion Phil Taylor recently hung up his darts at the age of 63, after competing on the senior tour in recent years. But it doesn't appear Littler is prepared to play as long as 'the Power'.
The teenager says he may call it a day as young as 27 if he believes he feels like he has 'had enough'.
Littler said: "I’ve been playing a long time in the juniors, in the old British Darts Federation.
"I might just do 10 or 15 years and retire, if I’ve had enough."
Littler has not been fazed by playing against the best players in the world in recent months.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Luke Littler has taken the darts world by storm in recent months
Getty
He thinks he will only continue to improve as he plays more regularly on the professional circuit.
Littler admitted: "All these players have been on top for many years — this is my first. In years to come I’ll be used to the circuit, used to going to this place, that place.
"People say you learn from your losses, so this is what I’m going to be doing now. Playing against these guys every week.
"People are going to think I’m the guy to beat but, to me, that was only what it was like on the junior darts circuit. Whenever I did lose, it was a big shock.
Luke Littler has admitted he may only have a short career in darts
Getty
"Probably all of them have been saying to themselves, ‘I’m not getting beat by a kid here.’ But they have been.
"These players have been on top for many years. Going into this season, there’s a lot of them defending prize money, so they’ve got to get so far in a tournament just to keep their world ranking up.
"Whereas if they go out first round, they’ll drop down, and that’s how I shoot up."
