Former darts world champion fears ‘money and fame could’ve gone to Luke Littler’s head’ and gives him advice after split

DENNIS PRIESTLEY fears “money and fame could’ve gone to Luke Littler’s head” after his meteoric rise.

The two-time world champion has also offered the darts sensation advice following his split from girlfriend Eloise Milburn.

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Littler recently ended the couple’s 10-month relationship before taking to social media to urge fans to “stop sending hate” to his ex.

Offering the Nuke some advice, Priestley told OLBG: “Luke should just sit back a little bit and make assessments of where he wants to go with life.

“We’ve all seen that before that young sports stars will go to the top and then a woman comes into their life and it changes some people.

“He’ll do what he wants to do and so he should, but a little advice would be to step back and make himself financially safe for the rest of his life – that should be the priority.

“He’s done well so far because his whole life has been in the spotlight and it’s a big thing for someone so young like him. I was surprised by the age gap between Luke and his girlfriend but obviously they must’ve met up through darts and got on well.

“His girlfriend would’ve been under scrutiny as well. She may or may not have wanted too much attention, we don’t know.”

Littler’s split followed his first round exit to Michael van Gerwen at the World Matchplay.

Later in the tournament, James Wade warned the 17-year-old will hit a “downturn” in performances and results.

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Priestley agreed with Wade’s comments, explaining: “The expectations on his shoulders are really heavy.

“James Wade was right to say there’ll be a dip in form for Luke. James has been around for a long time – he was just a young lad when I was playing.

“I’ve seen him come through and if James says something, it won’t be far off the truth.”

The 74-year-old continued: “It’s a possibility that the money and fame could’ve gone to Luke’s head.

“He may just look at his bank account in the morning and think ‘oh crikey, there’s £1million here, where did that come from? ‘ but he’s had to work for it. He’s had to make sacrifices.

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“He’s still so young, so there’s a lot of things that could be affecting him. He’s such a talent and I’m sure he’ll work his way through it.”

Despite his early exit in Blackpool, Littler was back on the oche last weekend.

He rocked up to a local tournament in Crewe, scooping the Cheshire Open as he played alongside his team-mates from his home club.