Luke Littler has revealed that corrective eye surgery as a child may have been crucial to his rise as the world's best darts player. The teenager underwent an operation at Warrington hospital to repair strabismus, or cross eye, a condition where the eyes do not align properly.
Littler, who won the World Darts Championship in January, said his parents made the decision for the surgery when he was four or five years old. 'Who knows? It's one of those things — it had to be sorted,' he told reporters. 'Eyesight is really important. I don't have many memories of that happening. There are pictures my family put on. I was very tired at the time, resting. But yeah, now we're all good.'
The procedure, which Littler describes as giving him 'treble-20 vision', has paid dividends as he now prepares to defend his title at Alexandra Palace on Saturday. Despite having no clear recollection of the operation, he acknowledges it was a turning point. 'Obviously, when I was younger, I didn't really care. But now you look at it, it was a good thing to get done.'
With the Ashes concluded and Premier League football taking a break, Littler insists darts is the centrepiece of the Christmas sporting calendar. 'Christmas is darts,' he said. 'If anyone's not watching it at the minute, then you should turn it on after Christmas.' The tournament resumes on Saturday at Ally Pally, where Littler will aim to retain the title he won in a thrilling final earlier this year.
