Luke Littler warned 'don't let the money get to your head' as darts icon counsels teen sensation

Darts icon Bobby George has offered some sage advice to young ace Luke Littler to stay grounded despite his rising stardom as 'The Nuke' gears up for a return to Alexandra Palace.

After a sensational debut at the PDC World Championship last year where he was runner-up to Luke Humphries, 17 year old Littler, who has already pocketed over £1million in winnings this year, is tipped to boost that figure significantly post-championship. However, George, who was twice unable to clinch the title in the BDO championships during the 1980s and 90s, warns the wunderkind of the perils that come with sudden fame and fortune.

He cautioned: "A young man like that, earning that money... I'm sure he wants to spend it on the things that we all did. Nice car, nice clothes sometimes it can be difficult when all of those things come at once. The reality is, it's hard for people to expect someone like Luke to behave in exactly the same way he did before Ally Pally last year because he turned into a superstar at that tournament. His life changed and he probably couldn't do all the normal things he used to do.

"Money and fame, it can be awkward for some people. People can change. My advice to him would be to simply keep his feet on the ground and do exactly what he's done all year play darts and don't get involved in people saying, 'Sign this contract, do this,' because there's a lot of sharks out there. Just keep your feet on the ground, don't grow up too quickly. You can go from a hero to zero overnight in darts. If he keeps his head down, has the right people around him and stays dedicated to the game, he's going to make a lot more money in his career, that boy."

With high hopes for the youngster's future, George anticipates Littler's