James Wade believes Luke Littler will bring more money into darts and that all professional players are going to benefit from this as a result.
Speaking on his column with the Daily Star, the PDC veteran who has played against other darts stars/prodigies/GOATS in Phil Taylor and Michael Van Gerwen believes Luke Littler is key to unlocking darts in the mainstream, much like Tiger Woods did for golf.
“I’ve said it and I will say it again: anyone that doesn’t think Luke Littler is good for the game is absolutely wrong.
“He is attracting sponsors, encouraging people to do exhibitions, getting fans to buy tickets and is promoting the general public to play the sport.
“All of this will have a positive effect on salaries, prize money, endorsements and appearance fees. There is some jealousy around now and I just don’t get it.”
James Wade has faced some personal issues in recent years and has slipped down the Order of Merit as the next generation of darters take over.
He isn’t showing any signs of stopping his career though and feels that darts is going to be more lucrative for the next few years as a result of Luke Littler and this applies to all pros.
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— James Wade (@JamesWade180) May 19, 2024
Was great to be there and to support @BipolarUK – thank you to @BBCSurrey for helping raising awareness
“Look at what Tiger Woods did for golf. He might have been by far the biggest earner in that sport but everyone else rode on his coattails and he grew the game.”
It’s interesting the timing of these comments as there have been murmurs in recent weeks that not all pros are happy about the “Littler effect”…
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Professional Dart Players Need to Stop Hating on Littler
Wade is now the second pro to come out in support of Luke Littler following recent comments by Michael Smith on how ‘some’ pro players are annoyed or angered by the special treatment that Littler is getting by the PDC and press.
With ‘unbeatable’ players or teams in sports, there’s always the excitement when someone is dominant and you want to witness history as they destroy records and place their mark on sports.
For many though it’s a fine balance. As a competitor or spectator, it often happens that eventually you want to see the top players/teams dethroned or to have fierce rivalries.
Related – Hearn to move World Championship venue to Saudi Arabia 👀
While it’s good to witness dominance, it can become boring when you see the same winners all the time and competing players can definitely be susceptible to jealousy.
That’s why Luke Littler is such a strange example.
He’s only just started his career so professional players can’t be annoyed by his play, he’s winning a lot already but he’s very far from the Taylor era of just complete domination.
The issue with most lower ranked pro’s is that Littler is getting unprecedented levels of media exposure for his age and experience, there are pros who have grinded out the circuits for decades that don’t get a mention.
This is where there seems to be negativity coming from the pro circuit.
It’s therefore good to say accomplished and high ranking pros like Smith and Wade explain how Littler becoming more popular will benefit darts as a whole and as a result, all professional players.
More sponsorship, exhibitions, tournaments, prize money, media coverage, etc…
These all come with high profile figures so hopefully the comments from Smith and Wade calm down the other pros and they start to see how the “Littler effect” will benefit all.
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