Premier League Darts 2025: Luke Littler Talks Mental Toll, Growing Friendships, and Gerwyn Price Rivalry

The Premier League darts roadshow continues this week as it hits Manchester for Night 10, the 'home' venue of reigning world champion Luke Littler and Target stablemate Nathan Aspinall.

Littler sits comfortably at the top of the Premier League table, six points clear of Luke Humphries in second. However, after a first-round loss to Chris Dobey last week in Berlin, the 18-year-old will be eager to make amends and correct his performance from the German capital.

We caught up with Littler prior to tonight's action, where he shared his thoughts on the demanding 17-week Premier League schedule as we hit the halfway mark, how he’s growing on tour, and the friendships he's developing with fellow pros like Aspinall and Dobey. And of course, we had to ask if any local celebrities have been sliding into his DMs begging for tickets to the sold-out show at Manchester Arena.

Littler’s Growing Bonds with Tour Peers

In his first year on tour as a professional, Littler made it clear that he preferred to keep to himself away from the oche. While many of his competitors enjoy camaraderie backstage, Littler would often retreat to his phone or gaming platform, much like any other teenager. But after a year of experience—and with a world championship to his name—Littler is beginning to come out of his shell. He is even starting to forge deeper connections with his peers on the darts circuit.

Former World Matchplay champion, Nathan Aspinall, revealed in a recent TalkSPORT interview that since turning 18, Littler has begun to join him and others at the hotel after events instead of staying alone in his room. They’d play cards and spend time together, a departure from Littler’s previous solitary routine.

We asked Littler about this, and he jokingly clarified that he’s never played cards in his life, expressing some surprise at Aspinall's story. But he did admit that he’s becoming more sociable with his fellow darts professionals.

“I’ve not really gone out too often with them. I’ve never played cards in my life though,” he laughed, suggesting that Aspinall might be stretching the truth a little.

“Now I’m 18, I’ll go out with Nathan [Aspinall] and Chris [Dobey]. They’re the two I’m probably closest with in the Premier League. It’s good to get out of the hotel. They’ve both been on tour for many years, they’re used to going out. So now I can just join them instead of staying in my hotel room," he told SportsBoom.com. 

We then asked Littler if he thinks his growing friendship with seasoned pros like Aspinall and Dobey has helped him develop both as a player and a professional. While neither is a world champion like Littler, their years of experience offer him plenty to learn from.

“I would say that, yeah. At the end of the day we have the same management, we travel together so it’s nice and easy. We want to build that friendship within us.”

“But once we’re on stage I assure you, we are enemies.”

Rivalry Renewed: Littler vs. Price in Manchester

The conversation soon shifted to Littler's upcoming match in Manchester, where his rivalry with Welshman Gerwyn Price will be renewed. Surprisingly, Price has maintained a perfect record against Littler for nearly a year, having won their last six encounters. Littler's last victory over the Welshman came on Night 13 of last year's Premier League in Liverpool.

In a recent episode of ‘Stick to Football’ with Gary Neville on YouTube, Littler revealed how Michael van Gerwen likes to get into his opponents’ heads before matches, particularly during the pre-match bull-up to determine who throws first. Given Price’s dominance over Littler, we asked if Price employs similar mind games.

Littler quickly shut down the idea, noting that Price, like him, tends to keep to himself backstage and doesn’t indulge in psychological tactics. Littler, who generally avoids taking notice of any mind games, prefers to let his darts do the talking.

“I wouldn’t say so, I don’t take note of what other players do, especially when we throw over the bull.”

“He [Gerwyn Price] just keeps himself to himself, the same as me on every Premier League night.”

“Now and again, we can have all have a laugh, most of the time actually we’re having a laugh.”

The Mental Toll of the Premier League Darts Schedule

As the conversation turned to the mental toll of being a Premier League player, Littler reflected on comments made by Luke Humphries this week, in which Humphries admitted that the schedule had taken a mental toll on him and that he hadn’t been feeling himself. 

Littler, a football fanatic, drew parallels between darts and team sports, explaining that it can be mentally taxing when you don’t have anyone else to lean on onstage.

The Premier League schedule is relentless, with Thursday nights for the roadshow, Pro Tours earlier in the week, and European Championship events over the weekend. Littler has opted to skip some of these events to avoid burnout and maintain his form for the Premier League specifically.

“In darts you’re on your own, you’re not working as a team. Week in, week out, you’re on your own.”

“Like I’ve said, it’s a long 17 weeks, with the Pro Tour and European Tour in-between. That is the busy schedule for us darts players, and unfortunately, we have to get on with it.”

Surprising Lack of Celebrity Ticket Requests for Littler

With the Premier League roadshow now in Manchester, we expected Littler’s phone to be buzzing with celebrity requests for tickets to the sold-out show at the Manchester Arena. But surprisingly, Littler revealed that his Instagram DMs haven’t been as active as usual.

“I’ve actually not had many messages.”

Surely some of the Manchester United players or his influencer friends, like Angry Ginge, would be attending, but Littler confirmed that he hadn’t received any ticket requests.

“Not that I know of. I know he [Angry Ginge] came backstage and met all the players last year, but I’ve not had any messages,” he concluded.