Former electrician Cross charged to the 2018 world title in his first full season, while Adrian Lewis and Michael van Gerwen were multiple victors in their 20s and 16-time champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is widely considered the greatest of all time.
Littler is currently fourth in the world rankings, although that is based on a two-year Order of Merit.
There have been suggestions from others the spotlight on the teenager means world number one Humphries, 29, has been denied the coverage he deserves, but no darts player has made a mark at such a young age as Littler.
“Luke Humphries is another fabulous player who is going to be around for years. Sport is a very brutal world. It is about winning and claiming the high ground. There will be envy around,” Hearn said.
“Luke Littler is the next Tiger Woods for darts so they better get used to it, and the only way to compete is to get better.”
World number 38 Martin Lukeman was awestruck as he described facing a peak Littler after being crushed 16-3 in the Grand Slam final, with the teenager winning 15 consecutive legs.
“I can’t compete with that, it was like Godly. He was relentless, he is so good it’s ridiculous,” he said.
Lukeman can still see the benefits he brings, adding: “What he’s done for the sport is brilliant. If it wasn’t for him, our wages wouldn’t be going up. There’s more sponsors, more money coming in, all good.”
Hearn feels future competition may come from players even younger than Littler.
“I watched a 10-year-old a few months ago who averaged 104.89 and checked out a 4-3 win with a 136 finish. They smell the money, the fame and put the hard work in,” he said.
How much better Littler can get is guesswork, although Plummer believes he wants to reach new heights.
“He never says ‘how good was I?’ But I think he wants to break records and beat Phil Taylor’s 16 World Championships and 16 World Matchplay titles,” he said. “He’s young enough to do it.”
A version of this article was originally published on 29 November.
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