Luke Littler has the world of darts at his feet (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan admits he would do things differently when he became a teenage sensation in snooker, given his time again, and has recommended that darts superstar Luke Littler has an ‘Alex Ferguson type figure’ in his life.
Littler has become a household name in recent weeks after the 16-year-old made the World Darts Championship final on debut.
The teenager fell just short in his bid to become the youngest ever world champion in darts, losing to Luke Humphries, but he clearly has an enormous future in the game, starting very soon when he plays in the World Series of Darts and Premier League.
Parallels were drawn between The Nuke and The Rocket as O’Sullivan shot to fame by winning the UK Championship at just 17 years old back in 1993.
Asked if he has any advice for Littler, O’Sullivan suggested doing similar to Stephen Hendry by getting a pretty strict manager to look after his career, as the legendary Scot did with Ian Doyle early in his snooker life.
‘I think if I had my time again, I’d probably take the Hendry route and just be always around an Alex Ferguson type figure,’ O’Sullivan told SportBoom.com.
‘I’d definitely choose to do things differently. So, just keep your feet on the ground if you can and just keep good people around.’
Ronnie O’Sullivan knows all about becoming a teenage sporting sensation (Picture: Getty Images)
PDC great James Wade has also urged caution when it comes to the new young star of the oche, worried that he could suffer burn out while promoters try and cash in on his widespread popularity.
‘People need to accept that Luke is 16 years old and things may not always go according to plan,’ Wade told the Daily Star. ‘We have seen this before when people like Josh Rock emerged only to get caught up in the fanfare and then take a few years to adjust.
‘I can understand the PDC’s desire to put Luke into the Premier League (he is their most marketable asset at present) but that roadshow is a lonely and tiring place and I really hope that it doesn’t come at the cost of burn-out for the rest of his career.
‘He deserves to be nurtured because it is a great story, and he could turn out to be a top, top player for a long time.’
MORE : Luke Humphries rates Luke Littler’s chances of dominating darts
MORE : Ronnie O’Sullivan has huge snooker goal that ‘he’s not declaring,’ says Jimmy White
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‘I’d probably take the Hendry route.’