Darts icon Phil Taylor has offered up some clear advice to sensation Luke Littler, suggesting he should give the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year ceremony a miss and focus on his World Championship ambitions.
Despite being tipped as second favourite behind Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson for the prestigious BBC accolade, Taylor, who has clinched the world title 16 times and been a SPOTY runner-up himself, insists that the competition at the Paddy Power PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace is too fierce for any distractions.
Taylor said: “Littler is playing like a magician, but Luke Humphries is the man to beat at the Ally Pally. He’s reigning champion, he’s No.1 in the world and Littler will have to get past him in the semi-finals if the draw unfolds the way you would expect.”
Taylor added: “If I was Luke’s manager I’d tell him; ‘Sorry, you’re not going’. Do you want to hang out with a few celebrities on a red carpet – or do you want to win £500,000?
“And the prize money is only part of it. If Littler wins the world title at 17-years-old, the spin-offs and commercial deals will be astronomical, proper life-changing money,” as per reports from The Express.
Taylor continued: “I was lucky enough to be voted Sports Personality of the Year runner-up in 2010 and did attend the event, but I was 50-years-old and I’d won 15 world titles by then. If I was Luke, then I’d record a video message.
“The kid is special. What a player, what a lift he’s given the whole game.