Three-time Lakeside World Champion, Beau Greaves doesn’t speak lightly, and when the Yorkshire prodigy tells you that darts has tilted on its axis, it’s worth leaning in. In her eyes, the sport is no longer merely evolving – it has been jolted awake by a teenage supernova. The phrase doing the rounds in practice rooms, academies and county leagues alike is the “Littler effect”, and according to Greaves, it is already reshaping darts from the oche up.
Having beaten Luke Littler in the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship, Greaves speaks with the authority of someone who has witnessed the phenomenon at close quarters. The Nuke’s meteoric ascent has not simply filled arenas and dominated headlines – it has pulled an entirely new generation toward tungsten with wide-eyed belief that this, too, could be their future.
Speaking to Darts News, Greaves said: “It’s had a huge impact on young boys and girls. It has affected loads of young lads and young girls.
“With all the academies and people playing, he has been great — he has literally changed things for everyone. It’s great. What more do you want? It was really good and really positive.”
This is not starry-eyed hyperbole. Across the country, darts academies are swelling, junior leagues are oversubscribed, and practice boards are being hung in bedrooms where football posters once ruled. Littler has made elite darts look attainable, glamorous, and thrillingly alive. For Greaves, the ripple effects will not be fleeting. She believes this surge of youthful enthusiasm will feed directly into the long-term health of both the men’s and women’s games.
“Hopefully, as the sport continues to grow and get bigger in both the men’s and ladies’ games, young kids picking up darts can see longevity in the sport and build a career in it.”
The numbers already hint at a sport stretching beyond its old confines. This year’s World Championship at Alexandra Palace sold out entirely, with global demand so fierce that the tournament will expand into the Great Hall next year to accommodate more than 5,000 fans per session. Overseas supporters poured in, particularly from Germany and the Netherlands, but also from Ireland and the United States – a testament to darts’ widening gravitational pull.
On television, the final became a cultural moment. Peak audiences on Sky Sports surged to 2.5 million as Littler defended the Sid Waddell Trophy against Gian van Veen, sealing another million-pound payday and confirming his place as the sport’s most potent draw.
For Greaves, the conclusion is simple. Littler is not just winning titles – he is building pathways, changing perceptions, and opening doors that may never close again. Darts, once content with steady growth, is now sprinting. And it’s the kids at the back of the hall, clutching their first set of arrows, who may one day thank him most.
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