Topics: Darts, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen
A darts TV spotter has revealed that working on any match with Luke Littler playing is 'horrendous' for one reason.
After taking the sport of darts by storm last year, Littler entered the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship as the number four seed and the favourite to win the tournament.
Having narrowly missed out on winning the Sid Waddell trophy in last year's final, the 17-year-old will be hoping he can continue the dominant form he displayed when beating Stephen Bunting in a semi-final match on Thursday.
But standing in his way will be long-term rival Michael van Gerwen, who will be chasing his fourth World Championship crown after comfortably getting past Chris Dobey in his semi-final.
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However, while the talents of both players will undoubtedly excite fans, a darts spotter has explained why that working on matches involving Littler are particularly challenging.
The role of the spotter is to make sure the TV cameras zoom in on the correct part of the board, especially when players are on a crucial double.
Spotters are an integral part of the live coverage of darts on TV.
Experienced trio Keith Deller, Colin Lloyd and Richard Ashdown shared duties during last year's World Championship, but all three had to adapt to some of Littler’s quirky finishing routes and sheer speed.
"Er, horrendous," Lloyd said when asked by Daily Star Sport to describe what it's like spot during a Littler match.
"Luke’s got his own fandangled way of going, very much like Simon Whitlock and Rob Cross. They’ve all got their own ways going and it’s just a matter of picking up on them. When someone’s gone for a shot in a match and you’ve called it and, a few legs later, he’s left the same finish, you automatically think he’s going to go that way.
"But Luke sometimes doesn’t, he’ll go the way he feels comfortable. If he wants to go a fandangled way, he’ll go that way. But that’s the life of being a spotter in championship darts."
A prime example occurred during Littler's match against Aspinall, with just 11 left, the popular route would have been to hit three and then double four, however, the 17-year-old decided to go for seven and double two.
Speaking on Sky Sports, commentator Rod Studd said: "Double two the pick, interesting pick, pins it."
