Luke Littler to star in different sport on ITV as darts sensation, 18, links up with Tony Bellew and Barry Hearn
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
LUKE LITTLER is aiming to show there's just a fin margin between success and failure.
Darts' world champ is joining fellow big names of sport like Tony Bellew, Steve Davis and Barry Hearn for an angling event to be shown on ITV4.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
3
Luke Littler will hope to improve on his debut in last year's event
Credit: Getty
3
Ex-boxer will also be competing in a 32-strong line-up
But the Nuke, 18, came BOTTOM on his debut in the Target Sports Star Fishing Championship last year.
That's despite the keen angler sharing a snap of a sizable catch he made at the competition in Warwickshire.
The Warrington whizkid teamed up in 2024 with former Ally Pally kings Adrian Lewis and Rob Cross, plus Target Darts boss Garry Plummer.
Now he'll be back at the Tunnel Barn Fishery on July 29 alongside ex-world cruiserweight boxing champ Bellew, snooker's six-time Crucible king Davis, promoter Hearn and a string of other stars - from both sides of the microphone.
The 32-strong line-up also includes Lewis, Cross and James Wade from darts, as well as Derek Redmond, Gail Emms, George Groves, Johnny Fisher, Andy Goldstein, Hayley Turner and Gary Newbon.
Littler hopes to show Big Fish has a more meaty meaning than just being his favourite checkout at the oche.
And he also hopes to bounce back from England's World Cup embarrassment.
The Nuke and Luke Humphries went into the pairs tournament as the world's top two players and the last two Ally Pally kings.
3
Luke Littler has impressed fans after taking up a new sport
Credit: Instagram @lukethenukelittler
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
But they began to flounder from the start and fans had plenty to carp about afterwards.
Welshman Gerwyn Price, who suffered disappointment in the final against Northern Ireland, described the duo as "rubbish" and appeared to suggest they lacked "camaraderie".
Gerwyn Price runs rule over Luke Littler and Luke Humphries' England's World Cup of Darts flop
At least Littler won't be under the same type of pressure when he contests the angling competition, which raises five-figure sums for charity.
Organisers have stressed their 13th annual event is "not open to the public".
But a two-hour highlights package will be on ITV4 at a date to be confirmed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
4 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Who is Kevin Lerena's wife Geraldine?
The power couple at the heart of a global business Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SOUTH African champ Kevin Lerena is married to Geraldine – who is also in the boxing business. As an emerging promoter, Geraldine is likely to be ringside supporting her man when he clashes with Lawrence Okolie at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, July 19. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Kevin Lerena at the special screening of The Last Ranger at Montecasino in February this year in Johannesburg 2 Kevin, pictured with wife Geraldine, has spoken of the importance of 'teamwork' in their relationship Credit: INSTAGRAM Who is Geraldine Lerena? Together with Kevin, Geraldine is involved with Aquila Boxing Promotions but recently told an interviewer that her main role is to keep the couple's home running smoothly. "Kevin's life is stressful so I try to keep everything at home running as smooth as I can," she said. "There's a lot of teamwork." In the same interview, ahead of The Reckoning this year, Kevin said it is "also not easy being a mum" and said he tries to be as supportive as he can. The Reckoning was the name of a boxing event headlined by Kevin, where he defended his WBC bridgerweight title against Ukrainian fighter Serhiy Radchenko. The event took place at the Sunbet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 1. Lerena won the fight by knockout in the third round and Geraldine was – as usual – ringside. Oleksandr Usyk reveals 'the only opponent I don't love' ahead of Daniel Dubois fight The couple, who married in 2021, regularly post about their family life on Instagram. When their son Maximus was born last year, Kevin wrote: "Happy Birthday and a warm welcome to our beautiful blessing Maximus Matthew Lerena, who arrived weighing in at 3.3kgs with a full mop of hair!! "Though our little champ is currently in Neonatal ICU, we are grateful for the strength and health of Mommy!!! "Maximus came into the world fighting. Thank you for all the Love & Prayers. God is great! Lots of love from Kevin & Geraldine Lerena." In another post, on March 17 this year, Kevin wrote: "Happy birthday to my incredible wife. "A loving supportive wife, devoted mother, and incredible stepmom. Your kindness, and strength inspires me daily. Thank you … Forever grateful for you Mrs Lerena. "Today we celebrate you."
Scotsman
28 minutes ago
- Scotsman
World Cup aim for Hearts striker James Wilson as he discusses targets, tap-ins and timing
FIFA tournament in USA, Canada and Mexico is on the teen's radar Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... James Wilson was born nine years after Scotland's last World Cup appearance. Now 18, the Hearts striker is one of this country's most prodigious talents with the potential to reach the pinnacle of his chosen sport. For any footballer, that is the aforementioned greatest show on Earth. It's been a long time since France 98 as Scotland look to finally qualify for next summer's finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico. National coach Steve Clarke carries an established core of experienced players, including Liverpool's Andy Robertson, Napoli's Scott McTominay and the Aston Villa captain John McGinn. Wilson holds one senior cap after becoming the youngest internationalist in Scottish history in March. He was also called up for June's friendlies so is clearly in the manager's thoughts. He knows season 2025/26 carries huge significance as he looks to produce the club form to earn a seat on Scotland's World Cup plane. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It was nice to be called up again in the summer,' said Wilson. 'I was a bit disappointed not to get any minutes, but we know we've got a World Cup to try and reach next summer. Hopefully I can kick on this season and get myself in contention for that. Steve said just to keep working hard and keep doing what I'm doing. When I look back at where I was this time last season, I'd only played three first-team games. I hadn't really broken through at all and was playing B team football. If you'd told me this time last year I'd be where I am now, I'd be over the moon.' The youngster scored six goals in 32 Hearts appearances last season. He wants a significant improvement on that ratio this term and already has two goals from two games in the Premier Sports Cup. The motivation to impress new Hearts head coach Derek McInnes is obvious. 'Hopefully I can score a goal a game. Then there's the World Cup at the end of the year, so hopefully I could be involved in that,' said Wilson. 'You always want to start well and gain confidence from that. I'm definitely happy to start this season with some goals. 'When you come into pre-season and there are new faces, you want to give the best first impression you can. That's the way I'm looking at it and I think I've done that. When I was with Scotland, the new manager did give me a call. He gave me a few extra days off, to be fair! He said he was looking forward to working with me. It's given me a lot of confidence, him showing the trust in me to play the first two games. If you feel good, you'll play well and it's nice to have that backing.' It's also nice to see Lawrence Shankland - another Hearts player who will have World Cup aspirations - staying at Tynecastle after protracted contract negotiations. 'Yeah, 100 per cent,' agreed Wilson. 'To learn off him and play with him, I think he's one of the best players in the Scottish Premiership. To be able to play with him and learn from him is really good for me. I honestly had no idea [what was going to happen]. He had his reasons and I didn't really want to get involved. I'm just happy he's still here.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland debut and new strike partners at Hearts Wilson is now an established member of the first-team dressing room at Riccarton. 'I actually made my Scotland debut before I even got in the dressing room. It was nice to get in, see the boys more and try to be in and around it.' He has partnered Shankland, Claudio Braga and Elton Kabangu in Hearts' first two Premier Sports Cup ties as they beat Dunfermline 4-1 and Hamilton 4-0. The variety has its advantages, although McInnes may well settle on two of the four for league matches. 'It's really nice to play with all of these players, and everyone has come in and scored in these first few games,' Wilson pointed out. 'The competition is tough and it's nice to have played both games so far. I've been playing slightly deeper, which is different for me, but it's nice to just be on the pitch. Elton was playing slightly higher than me against Hamilton, which gave me the freedom to float about a bit more and drop in. I gave away the ball a bit more, to be fair! When I came through the academy at Hearts, that's the position I used to play a bit more. I had that freedom role where I could come short and I do enjoy that.' His goals have nonetheless demonstrated a poacher's instinct with impeccable timing inside the penalty area. 'Everyone says that. I'm a tap-in merchant,' smiled Wilson. 'Look, they're the goals as a striker you love to score. You can get so many goals a season just from being in that position. So I'm going to try and put myself in that position where if it drops, I'm getting a tap-in. It's working at the moment.' Playing alongside the seemingly uninhibitable Braga, you can't fail to have fun and score goals. 'He's the boy. He's a real character in the group,' acknowledged Wilson. 'You saw his celebration against Hamilton, which was a bit questionable! He's come in and done well and I'm looking forward to playing more with him.'
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Tense moment Jake Paul squares up to Oleksandr Usyk in ring after heavyweight champion's win over Daniel Dubois
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JAKE PAUL had a bizarre confrontation with Oleksandr Usyk after the heavyweight star's victory over Daniel Dubois. Usyk, 38, only needed five rounds to knock Dubois, 27, out on Saturday at Wembley and become undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Jake Paul had a bizarre confrontation with Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley 3 Uayk defeated Daniel Dubois and became undisputed heavyweight champion 3 Paul then challenged Usyk to an MMA fight, which left boxing fans baffled After the Ukrainian superstar extended his undefeated streak to a staggering 24 fights, Paul, 28, stepped inside the ring to confront the victor. The two men had a tense face-off in front of the packed crowd in London with the controversial YouTuber looking to tease a future clash between them. But it all turned rather strange later on social media when the Problem Child challenged the undisputed boxing champion to an MMA fight. Paul tweeted: "Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time @usykaa on a huge win. "I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world @MostVpromotions." Fans were left baffled and stormed the comments' section to state the obvious. One fan tweeted: "So you box MMA fighters and now you wanna fight MMA against boxers?! Make it make sense." Another commented: "Lmao. God forbid you box an active boxer, huh?" CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS A third wrote: "Boxes old age retired people Wrestles real world class boxers. Must be opposite day." This one said: "Wait, he's a boxer, and you're a boxer, right? Why not errrm box?" SunSport reporter Wally Downes Jr gives his verdict on Oleksandr Usyk's stunning KO rematch win vs Daniel Dubois And that one stated: "So when it's and MMA legend, you box. When it's a boxer, you do MMA." Ever since crossing over to boxing, Paul has mainly shared the ring with retired athletes - mainly from MMA - who never boxed. The social media sensation also had a highly-publicised and controversial bout last year with a then 58-year-old Mike Tyson. The promoter has only faced one active boxer in Tommy Fury, to whom he lost.
