Matchroom Sport founder Barry Hearn, which owns the PDC, has taken a wild dig at British tennis star Emma Raducanu while heaping praise on Luke Littler for his emergence at the World Darts Championship.
Littler has become an overnight sensation with the 16-year-old tearing up the Alexandra Palace and reaching the quarter-finals.
He pulled off the biggest win of his young life at the weekend in defeating former world champion Raymond van Barneveld.
Brendan Dolan now stands in Littler's way of reaching the semi-finals and continuing his incredible journey.
Luke Littler and Emma Raducanu have some similarities
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Hearn, who has previously managed the likes of Ronnie O'Sulivan, Steve Davis and Anthony Joshua, is clearly excited about Littler's prospects.
The Matchroom Sports president wants to see the teenager's next steps managed correctly to help his chances of realising his full potential for decades to come.
And Hearn used Raducanu, who has tumbled down the rankings due to injuries and poor form since her historic win at the 2021 US Open, as an example for Littler.
Hearn said: “He’s clearly got a lot going for him, his parents and the group around him are very supportive.
"Now they mustn’t just look at the money because that will come automatically if you are good enough.
“There’s a tremendous number of great players coming through because they smell the money. Top of the tree darts players are probably earning £2-£2.5 million a year.
“With him it’s a question of drip-feed his notoriety.
"If I was managing him I’d put his fee up to an astronomical number and then, by the laws of supply and demand, that will cut down the possibility of him being burnt out.
Emma Raducanu has struggled since winning the 2021 US Open
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"The biggest job for him will be to actually control his diary.
“You compare it to [Emma] Raducanu. I wouldn’t be cruel and call it a flash in the pan but that [Raducanu] is a one-off that hasn’t been followed up.
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Luke Littler is through to the quarter-finals of the World Championship
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"She’s still a good player – there’s something missing there, injuries whatever. This kid, you think, could be the face of darts for the next 25 years.
“I think he is one of those players in 10 years’ time, we will look back and say, ‘That was the moment the game changed again and went up another level’.
"People are looking at Luke Littler and going ‘Bloody Norah, why not me?’ It will inspire a generation.”
