Phil Taylor tells Luke Littler two things he needs to win 16 World Darts Championships including a good pair of shoes

PHIL TAYLOR believes Luke ­Littler is young enough and good enough to beat his record 16 world titles.

But Taylor has given the teenage sensation two tips to stay at the top — comfortable shoes and a personal mattress topper.

Littler, 17, became the youngest world champion in history on Friday when he thumped three-time Alexandra Palace winner Michael van Gerwen 7-3 to lift his first crown.

It completed an astonishing first year on the circuit for Littler, who has won 11 titles in 12 months and gone second in the world rankings.

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Littler is some way behind Taylor’s 16 titles — 11 more than anyone else in the sport.

But Taylor did not win his first until the age of 29 when he beat the late Eric Bristow 6-1 back in 1990 — and knows time is on Littler’s side.

Taylor, 64, said: “It’s entirely up to Luke how long he plays, how ­dedicated he remains and how many titles he wins.

“For now, just let the kid play.

“He’s a world champion at 17 years old, the youngest to do it by a mile, and he’s just brilliant.

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“When people ask how many world titles he can win, don’t forget he has all the time in the world if he wants it.

“I was nearly 30 when I won my first world championship — and Paul Lim won more than twice as much as me for hitting a nine-darter as I got for winning the whole thing.

“To win 16 of them in a 23-year period took a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices.

“Only Luke himself knows, deep down, if he is prepared to put in the hours, and it’s entirely up to him whether he wins another one, or five, or 15, 16, 17 and goes past me.

“But he’s young enough to do it.”

Taylor enjoyed a 31-year professional career, so knows all about longevity in the game.

He officially hung up his flights in 2024 after competing on the senior tour.

Littler has already had a taste of the gruelling demands which come with being one of the best players on the planet.

He played close to 200 matches on the tour last year — a remarkable ask for such a young player in his debut season.

Taylor said: “If I could give him one piece of advice, or one tip to help him stay at the top, it wouldn’t be anything to do with his darts or the way he navigates his way around the board.

“I would tell him shoes.

“If you’re not standing comfortably on the oche, you’re not going to hit a target the size of your little fingernail, so make sure your shoes fit perfectly — and take two or three pairs with you everywhere.

“And sleep. Make sure you get enough rest.

“I still take a mattress topper with me everywhere I go because some hotel beds are like sleeping in the middle of the road. Your darts won’t go where you want them to land if you are bleary-eyed after a restless night.”

The pressure on Littler will only intensify in the months ahead as the newly-crowned world champion.

He will be expected to win almost every single event for the foreseeable future and is already the favourite to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year — after coming second to Keely Hodgkinson last month.

Taylor added: “Let’s enjoy him. Let’s celebrate a kid who is the best in the world at what he does, and worry later about how much he’s achieved when he decides to stop.

“But if he’s still playing at 40, it will mean he’s won a lot more.

“Youngsters now are fearless, almost disrespectful. They don’t give tuppence who you are or what you’ve done — they are not frightened of anyone, you are there to be beaten.”

Littler does not intend to throw another dart in anger until he travels to the Bahrain Darts Masters.

And he accepts he will now be subject to the old ‘Manchester United syndrome’ whenever he is on the stage throughout 2025.

It is no shock to learn that Littler wanted a break — and a long sleep — over the weekend after he returned home to Warrington from a historic three weeks in London.

And he says he will NOT practise before he begins the defence of a tournament he won last year on ­January 16.

Littler, who prefers to spend more time on his Xbox computer, laughed: “I don’t want to practise really. I just want to chill out!

“It will probably be the same as last year, leading up to the Bahrain Masters — I won’t pick them up.

“I didn’t know too much about Bahrain, but once we flew over there, a few hours on the plane, it was a really nice country.

“To win the first title of 2024 was to say that ‘I’m here on the World Series’.

“Also I’m here to make sure the World Championship wasn’t a fluke.

“But I know darts is on the curriculum in Bahrain.”

The Crown Prince of Bahrain has become a big fan of the sport having fallen in love with darts watching Littler’s first pro nine-darter against Nathan Aspinall in last year’s event.

Promoter Barry Hearn revealed: “He went to watch the Bahrain Darts Masters as a spectator, dressed casually, and no one recognised him — and he’s the Prime Minister and Crown Prince!

“He’s sat in the audience, sees Luke Littler’s nine-darter and he’s fallen in love with darts saying: ‘This is one of the best nights out I’ve ever had.’

“Now we’re talking to him in great detail about big moments in Bahrain — not so much the professional game but the underbelly. The grassroots.

“That’s important — they are the customers of the future.”

Littler turns 18 on January 21 and there have been whispers in the sport that rivals will feel more free to play mind games — having not wanted to be seen to be attacking a kid.

Taylor used to talk about the Manchester United effect in Sir Alex Ferguson’s heyday.

The Power said: “United never got an easy game. I never got an easy game as everybody tried their best against you.”

As a United fan, Littler understands the analogy.

He said: “Maybe I do have to play better against these players.

“But I know within the first leg of a game that, whoever I’m playing, this is their cup final and I’m going to have be on it from the start.”