Warrington’s Luke Littler has been compared to Wayne Rooney for the impact he is having on darts after a new study revealed how his heroics at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship has led to an 83% increase in interest around tickets.
The 17-year-old, born in Runcorn but hailing from Warrington, has become a superstar since his professional breakthrough last year, and has been valued as an asset worth more than £100million to darts by sport finance expert Dr Rob Wilson.
Data analysts at Vision4Sport dug into the numbers and uncovered a startling 83% increase in ticket demand thanks to the Luke Littler effect as evidenced by comparing the volume of searches for tickets around the PDC World Darts Championship each year.
Vision4Sport curate complete and bespoke services for a whole host of sporting events, and Co-Founder, Chris Newbold commented on the rise in interest in darts. Newbold said: “From time to time, something happens to a sport that sees the interest go through the roof. Whether it is a new stadium, a new manager, or the announcement that it is the last ever event for example. For darts in 2024, the spike has undoubtedly been thanks to Luke Littler.
“Over the years, we’ve witnessed these peaks in other sports, but I think it is fair to say that the Littler effect is right up there with the most powerful in sporting history.”
In fact, 2024 PDC World Darts Championship saw the largest search volume for darts tickets on record with almost 400,000 enquiries for tickets compared to second-placed 2015 when Gary Anderson beat Phil Taylor. That titanic clash saw just over 275,000 searches in pursuit of tickets, by comparison.
| “darts tickets” Google Searches in UK since 2004 | ||
| Rank | World Championship | Search Volume (Absolute) |
| 1 | 2024 | 379,916 |
| 2 | 2015 | 282,159 |
| 3 | 2013 | 275,494 |
| 4 | 2017 | 259,942 |
| 5 | 2016 | 257,720 |
| 6 | 2022 | 246,611 |
| 7 | 2014 | 233,281 |
| 8 | 2020 | 226,616 |
| 9 | 2018 | 215,507 |
| 10 | 2023 | 206,620 |
| 11 | 2012 | 177,738 |
| 12 | 2019 | 173,294 |
| 13 | 2011 | 171,072 |
| 14 | 2010 | 164,407 |
| 15 | 2009 | 159,964 |
| 16 | 2007 | 144,412 |
| 17 | 2005 | 142,190 |
| 18 | 2008 | 133,304 |
| 19 | 2006 | 117,751 |
Meanwhile, Sky Sports cited Littler’s showdown with Luke Humphries in the final last year as the largest non-football sports event on their network, and darts clubs across the UK have reported record numbers of new and young players flocking to the oche.
Speaking to Vision4Sport, Professor of Applied Sport Finance Dr Rob Wilson gave his view on the impact of Littler on his sport.
Luke Littler is the Wayne Rooney of darts and is bringing in a new audience to the sport
Wilson said: “I can see comparisons between Luke Littler and a young Wayne Rooney. The way he has taken darts by storm and is already the face of the sport, he is more recognisable now than any one else.
“The fascinating thing is that he’s activated a completely new audience for the sport. You have teenagers up to mid 20s that are now interested in or looking at darts as a result of Luke Littler because of his age, because of his profile, because of the fact that he’s shaken things up and because he’s different.
“New fans are engaging on digital platforms, which is great for Luke commercially and great for the sport commercially. It’s also great for the exposure of darts as a brand and I’m sure Barry Hearn is rubbing his hands together at the prospect of a Luke Humphries rematch.
“I dare say a Luke Littler victory too because that would be the crowning glory to what has been an exceptional year for him and will propel him into a completely new stratosphere for darts and the audiences he’s able to attract.”
Luke Littler is easily a £100million asset to darts – and it’s rising
Wilson said: “Luke Littler is easily an asset worth £100million to the sport of darts and it’s rising. He has opened the door to new audiences and that’s not looking down on the likes of Luke Humphries or Michael van Gerwen.
“The reality is that darts now has a hugely disruptive influence, not because of his personality, but because of his playing ability.
“He comes across like a nice guy, just a normal kid that is an exceptionally talented darts player and you find yourself rooting for him as an underdog because he’s a young kid, when actually he is one of the leading players in the world.
“Through that has opened new doors and will continue to do so for the sport and you would expect them to go through an era of domination now.
“Rivalries like Humphreys vs Littler for the next five or ten years will be so lucrative for the sport. You can already see how important it is.”
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