Snooker has ‘Luke Littler problem’ as World Championship stars hold Ronnie O’Sullivan fear
World Snooker Championship stars have discussed darts' new sensation Luke Littler.
Mark Williams and Robert Milkins have expressed their concerns for snooker’s future at the World Championship, as they fear that the sport will decline in popularity without its own version of Luke Littler. The 17-year-old became a household name overnight and attracted a host of new fans to darts, with rival sports watching on in envy.
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Littler has already amassed well over a million followers on Instagram, more than Ronnie O’Sullivan and any other snooker player, with darts receiving a very welcomed boost in attention since the teenager’s Alexandra Palace run.
Meanwhile, a host of top snooker stars feel that their sport is dwindling. The Rocket called for the World Championship to be moved to Saudi Arabia or China in order to help grow the game’s showpiece event, which has been played in a 980-seater Crucible venue in Sheffield since 1977.
O’Sullivan, 48, has consistently threatened to retire and explained that if he comes into next year’s World Championship feeling as dejected about his performances as he has this year, he will hang up the cue. Williams and Milkins are worried that without the Rocket, snooker could be left in a very precarious position.
When asked if snooker was in desperate need of its own Littler by Sporting Life, Williams replied: “Yeah, it would be brilliant, but I don’t think you’re ever going to see it because of the standard the top boys are still playing.
“If you did I think it would be some youngster from China, the youngest we (in the UK) have got that’s got a possible chance is probably Jackson Page. He looks a little bit like Luke Littler, he’s 22 but he looks a lot older. He’s got a chance to do something similar to what Littler’s doing. But in snooker I think it’s very difficult, especially in the UK, but it would be nice to see.”
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Snooker could do with a Luke Littler to kick-start a new class of 92 but the likes of Mark Williams and Robert Milkins can't see it happening. This is very honest and pretty worrying.
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) April 23, 2024
However, Shaun Murphy has a more positive outlook later on this videopic.twitter.com/ldK5MjhTut
Snooker had a dramatic rise 30 years ago thanks to the ‘Class of 92’ with O’Sullivan, Williams and John Higgins, but Milkins echoed the Welshman’s comments that a new superstar in the ilk of Littler is extremely unlikely.
“I can’t see it happening if I am honest,” he said. “It was so much easier when I was a kid. In Gloucester, in my snooker club, we had 10 players that could make 100 breaks. Now you haven’t got two players in the county who can make 100 breaks. The snooker clubs are all shutting.
“I don’t think so (chance of another ‘Class of 92’). Sad really. I don’t want to be downbeat but I can’t see it happening. Maybe in China, but I can’t see it happening here, not at the moment.”
