The 17-year-old darts champion is leading a new class of athletes, gamers and entrepreneurs who are hitting the mark.
by matt craig and alex yorkForbes staff
LUke Littler I'll be the first to admit that darts isn't a sport that most people talk about. “It's one of those weird sports that isn't all that popular,” says the 17-year-old darts prodigy from Warrington, England. professional darts corporation He caused a sensation across Europe at the World Championships in January. “But,” he added. “I’m happy to say I made this work a little more famous.”
That's an understatement. Littler's championship match, in which he lost to fellow Briton Luke Humphries, attracted the highest number of viewers (3.7 million) for a non-football broadcast in Sky Sports history. Barry Hearn, president of Matchroom Sports, which owns PDC, called it a “Tiger Woods moment” for the sport. Almost overnight, “Luke the Nuke's” Instagram followers grew from his 4,000 to his 1.2 million.He appeared on a TV talk show and threw darts. stranger things It has signed new sponsors like star Millie Bobby Brown and clothing brand boohooMAN. In addition, he cashed a prize check for £200,000.
Levon Biss of Forbes
“The world has gone crazy,” Littler says. “When you stand there and throw tungsten into the board, you can win money and create some legacy for yourself.”
Littler is one of Forbes magazine's 2024 European Sports & Gaming “30 Under 30.” This group is a group of young athletes, game developers and entrepreneurs who have already made their presence felt on the world stage in the world of sports and gaming.
The Class of 2024 includes 11 athletes, 9 entrepreneurs (co-founders included in the same entry), 5 game developers, 4 sports business professionals, and 1 esports athlete. Introducing the diversity of Of the 30 participants on this year's list, 11 identify as women and 12 identify as people of color.
This year's class was selected from hundreds of nominations submitted through a public online nomination form and generated from research and conversations with industry insiders. Candidates must be 29 years of age or younger as of April 9, 2024. Nor would she have previously been included in Forbes' “30 under 30'' list. They were evaluated by a panel of judges including: mo farahLegendary British distance runner and four-time Olympic gold medalist. Sarai BearmanFIFA Women's Soccer Director. Lina Onur Sirinoor, co-founder of Spike Games.and Pontus EskilssonVice President of Global Partnerships at Twitch.
The list features winners such as: Aitana BommatiThe 26-year-old won the World Cup with Spain, won the Champions League with FC Barcelona Femeni, won the Golden Boot, the Ballon d'Or Femeni and every MVP award, making him one of the best footballers of all time, male or female. I would say it was a successful year. Available. 2023, 20 years old jude bellingham He moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for a fee of $111 million and finished the year winning the World Player of the Year award under 21. his teammates, Vinicius Junior, the 23-year-old has shined both on the field and as the face of the sport's anti-racism efforts.Meanwhile, 22 years old Jannik Sinner and 25 years old Arina Sabalenka Both won tennis's first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, with the former becoming the first Italian in 48 years to win a Grand Slam.
Former athletes such as British and Jamaican Olympians michael gunning27 years old, Belgian racing driver of Rwandan descent. naomi schiff, the 28-year-olds have successfully launched second careers in broadcast media.Others include a 28-year-old cycling YouTuber Fabio Wibmer 28 year old gaming YouTuber Lucas Hauschardshowed the direction in the digital media field. Dana Sidorenko, 27, designed an app to find new gamer friends, specifically targeting women and LGBTQ+ gamers. Currently, his company Game Tree has over 700,000 users and recently closed a funding round at a valuation of $19 million.and Takumi JaninThe 28-year-old, co-owner of A&V Sports Group, is the managerial representative for some of the world's best female soccer players.
This year's list was compiled by Matt Craig and Alex York. For a link to the complete list of his 2024 European Under 30 sports and games, go to click hereand for full coverage of Europe's 30 under 30 in 2024. click here.
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