Luke Littler is already learning the painful realities of greatness

The teenage sensation has come under criticism from fellow players and been toured around the British light entertainment circuit over the past month

For the second time in three weeks, Luke Littler has rankled a significant figure in the world of darts. Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld, who Littler beat on his way to the World Championship final, has complained that the 17-year-old hasn’t been responding to his texts.

“I then understood that I am one of his idols. I can understand why you don’t talk at the World Championship, but at other tournaments… I recently walked up to him to shake his hand, then he takes off his earplugs and only says the essentials.

“He responded: yes, I only respond to text messages. I don’t actually use WhatsApp. Well, fine, I sent a text message. And then unfortunately still no message back here either.

“Unfortunately, I was a little bit disappointed about it. Because; how nice it is to have contact with one of your idols. Perhaps also exchange advice and learn something from your idol. My thoughts a few days later were “leave it then, when he isn’t responding back!

“I understand that you receive thousands of text messages, but of course I am not just anyone. If I have been your source of inspiration for years, then I also expect a text message in return.”

This exchange emerged two weeks after he won the Belgian Darts Open in Wieze, when 29-year-old German Ricardo “Pikachu” Pietreczko had moaned his showmanship was arrogant.

But here’s the thing about these complaints – Littler was bigger than darts by the end of the World Championship, now he’s multiple magnitudes more popular and powerful. He’s operating on a different plane. Maya Jama called him “the sports star of the moment” during his Comic Relief appearance. Like all his public events away from the oche, he looked somewhere between overawed and inconvenienced at that statement.

Littler has become a walking billboard advertising an entire sport, something he’s well aware of. He was dragged out to hit a comically large bullseye at Comic Relief, a trick anyone on that stage would have a fair chance of managing first time, a list which included David Tennant, Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness and Lenny Henry.

The next day he was en route to winning in Wieze, hitting a nine-darter in the final. The week after, he was throwing a pie at Stuart Broad on Sky Sports’ Fantasy Football League.

“It’s just been crazy, as everyone knows since the World Championship,” he said to Romesh Ranganathan during Comic Relief. “It’s changed my life and it’s changed many other people’s lives, particularly the youngsters. So many people are getting into the game now.”

A week earlier Littler was a guest on the Jonathan Ross Show, alongside a bona fide A-List cast. Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown, who’s engaged to Jon Bon Jovi’s son, told him she was a fan. He acted as if she’d told him she was really into skimmed milk. He’d had the same reaction to Jurgen Klopp referencing him in a press conference – “I gave it a like and went on to the next video. That was literally another day in my life.”

But put yourself in Littler’s shoes for a moment. If he were to react to everything, feel everything, fully experience life as he’s living it, there’s every chance he’d be checked into a local institution by tomorrow morning. He’s always been destined for greatness, but the reality is so all-encompassing nothing could ever prepare you for it.

His aloofness can be taken for arrogance, and there’s probably some truth in those accusations. But how could he not be? When everything you’ve touched so far has turned to gold, why would you not believe the next thing will too?

Darts is now Luke Littler, and that’s a co-dependent relationship with a clear propensity towards toxicity. The PDC will do everything they can to extract maximum value from a teenager who already has more than twice the amount of Instagram followers they do.