LUKE LITTLER may be such a hotshot he is having his home town’s stadium named after him.
But while the world darts champion could probably hit double 10 with his eyes closed, the same cannot be said for passing a ball through a washing machine door.
Warrington’s wonderkid will be honoured on Friday night when its rugby league side calls its ground The Luke Littler Stadium for one night only.
The 18-year-old, who has a £260 season ticket on its South Stand terrace, will be access all areas and will lead the Wolves out against Catalans Dragons.
However, this is not the first time he has been in front of the crowd there – and he will be hoping Friday is more successful.
Not long before he was PDC World Youth champion, he was picked out to take part in the half-time challenge, which sees people pass balls through holes in cutouts of appliances as part of a sponsorship with Hoover.
And chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick knows even the best can have an off day.
“Before Luke shot to fame, he did our Hoover Half-Time Challenge,” he recalled.
“You have to throw a ball through a hole in an appliance – all I can say is he’s better at throwing darts than he is at throwing rugby balls.
“Even before that we’ve done things like giving him season tickets, so we’ve had a great relationship with Luke for a number of years.
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“I emailed Barry Hearn in early 2023 saying, ‘There’s a kid here who’s going to be special.’ He replied, ‘I’m aware of him.’ This was before he exploded.
“Luke loves the club. He helped with our kit launch this year and said it’s a dream come true that we’re naming the stadium after him.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Luke Littler sits ringside for Catterall vs Barboza in Manchester..” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368896124112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“And he can do what he wants. He’s got the freedom of the stadium.”
Normally, the stadium bears the name of car dealer Halliwell Jones but after a brainwave by Sky Sports’ Brian Carney, the temporary change was on.
After broaching the idea with Littler’s dad, Anthony Buckley, the company agreed – now its name will be sprayed over as Warrington honours one of its own.
And Littler’s brilliance on the oche can inspire the players coached by Sam Burgess, who has passed on his knowledge of breaking through as a teenager.
“Luke’s name will be up there,” Fitzpatrick added. “We’re going to put a red line through Halliwell Jones and spray paint Luke Littler.
“It will be pretty cool, people will like it.
“Brian and I chatted about how we can honour Luke’s incredible achievement and we wanted to do something special.
“We approached Luke’s dad and he came back straight away, saying, ‘We’d love to do that.’
“Then we spoke to Halliwell Jones, saying I believed they’d get fantastic exposure from it and they got three years’ worth of media value in 24 hours.
“Halliwell Jones are sending a car for him and he’s going to be sat at their table in hospitality – he’s normally on the South Stand, now he’s going in with the prawn sandwich brigade.
“This gives the town and community an incredible opportunity to celebrate Luke and when he had his success, Sam sat with him.
“He had a meteoric rise when he was young, so he had a good chat with him and is still in contact.
“Luke’s composure on such a big stage is something all players can take from, not just young ones.”
