Luke Littler has spoken out after previously being accused of ‘cheating’ during lockdown darts competitions which were held virtually. The 17-year-old shot to stardom during a shock run to the World Darts Championship final but his rise started during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A young Littler was unknown in the darts world prior to the coronavirus pandemic, despite winning the England Youth Grand Prix and the Isle of Man Masters youth competition in 2019. It was during lockdown that the teenager started to make waves in senior competitions, which due to his age, resulted in accusations that he was cheating in the virtual competitions.
Locked inside, Littler was recording his practice scores on mobile phone app Scolia and when he competed online the accusations began. He told The Times: “I was doing four, five hours a day, every day. I had nothing else to do.
“I 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.”
He added that people were asking if he could ‘prove it’ when competitions were resumed in person. Littler proved his doubters wrong in 2021 winning his first senior title at the Irish Open. He added: “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.”
