Football finance expert Dr Rob Wilson believes Luke Littler's emergence as the new face of darts has put him 'on the map' with Saudi Arabia's sports officials with the sport tipped as the next target for the Middle East's riches.
Saudi Arabia has shaken up the sporting landscape in recent years with the Public Investment Fund beginning to flex their financial power all over the world.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his 'Saudi Vision 2030 strategy' in 2016 where he planned to bring professional sport to the country to help create jobs.
Fast forward eight years and Saudi Arabia already have a foothold in golf and boxing as well as making waves in professional football having made an eye-watering $1billion offer to sign Kylian Mbappe last summer.
The Gulf State is now seen as the home for boxing's biggest fights with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk's heavyweight unification being held there.Other sports such as F1 and tennis have ventured into Saudi Arabia recently too while the country is set to host the 2034 World Cup.
Luke Littler is seen as the new face of darts
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Dr Wilson now believes darts, courtesy of the popularity boom it has enjoyed from Littler's emergence, could be the next venture in Saudi.
"I have no doubt that Luke Littler will be on the map. However, keep in mind that darts is promoted and governed like boxing is," the professor of economics at Sheffield Business School told OLBG.
"Boxing and UFC have both moved into Saudi Arabia and hosted successful events over the last four or five years, and I'd expect darts to be another fixture on their agenda if it shows the growth potential.
"Luke Littler burst onto the scene in the recent World Championships and now he's set to compete in Premier League darts despite not originally being permitted to play in it!
"Luke Littler is increasing demand for tickets, and a lot of Premier League fixtures have had a surplus of tickets as the demand wasn't quite there beforehand. Numbers were good, but not saturated.
"We're now seeing a demand for tickets, and that's due to Littler. That's proof that he's attracted new fans to darts, and anybody who's looking around the sport will want to get a piece of that action.
"They'll be thinking of how they can bring that success to another country and have Premier League darts in Saudi, Qatar, or somewhere else.
"I'm not a darts expert by any means, but what I saw over the Christmas and New Year period was a competitively balanced sport.
"There is a clear hierarchy in darts. Michael van Gerwen has grabbed the headlines over the last few years, as has Fallon Sherrock.
Luke Littler has the world at his feet
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"There are darts players who are balanced, and Littler has shaken up the status quo, something that's healthy.
"Whether or not darts needs more Luke Littlers is up for debate. He seems to be doing well by himself, but the older players will naturally decline in performance, and that's why you need that next wave."
The World Snooker Tour became the latest sports competition to announce a partnership with Saudi Arabia last month.
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Darts could be the next target for Saudi Arabia
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The inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker event will be held in March and feature the top eight players in the world rankings along with two wild cards.
The snooker tournament will also feature a completely new concept with a gold ball worth 20 points.
It will only be available to be potted once all other balls have been successfully cleared from the table if a player is on a maximum break, meaning it would be possible to finish with 167.
