Tabletop Gaming – Target Darts: The Luke Littler Effect – capturing new audiences with Target Live and Target Arcade

“When Luke Littler burst onto the scene for the first time, back end of 2023/start of 2024, the age demographic of darts dropped very rapidly,” says Ollie Howard, member of the Bullhitters, a group of darts influencers who can personally testify to the power of the Luke Littler effect. “In the last two years we’ve gone from zero to just over half a million followers, so it’s been a very, very quick journey for us. We’ve just bypassed 600 million views across all of our platforms.”

While Luke’s back-to-back triumphs at the PDC World Darts Championships – the youngest player ever to be a double champion at just 18 years old – have shone a spotlight on the sport, can an army of new fans do more than simply boost the numbers for a podcast? James Tattersall, CEO at Target Darts, believes they can.

“We are at the centre of one of the most exciting growth stories in sports,” he says. “Luke’s rise has changed the perspective of what darts is. Every sport in its history experiences growth points when that growth really accelerates. Football experienced it, golf experienced it, Formula One experienced it. Luke Littler created that moment in history, which means that darts is experiencing it right now. And Target now has the opportunity to go beyond what darts has already achieved and build what comes next.”

Target Darts: Updating a Century’s Old Sport

“10 years ago, darts was often seen as a sport with a passionate but relatively niche following,” Tattersall says, adding, “Over the next 10 years, our ambition is bigger. We want to drive innovation to bring a century’s old sport into the future.

“Today darts is more popular, it’s more global, and attracting a broader audience than ever before. And the numbers tell that story far better than I can. The 2025-26 World Darts Championship generated 51.2 million viewer hours on Sky Sports alone, making it the highest ever non-football audience in Sky Sports history.”

Tattersall points to the fact that the World Championship Prize Fund has grown from £1m in 2010 to £5m in 2026. But he’s keen to stress that he’s not just talking about professional players. Target Darts is looking to serve the needs of everyone from aspiring professionals and casual players to those picking up a dart for the first time. “We want darts to become a sport that anybody can play anywhere against anyone and at any level, with a consistent, considered, connected experience that follows them throughout their journey,” he shares.

Target Darts already has the ability to connect players around the world using its OMNI system. This automatic scoring and lighting system transforms a traditional dartboard into a connected device capable of supporting live competition. It uses four built-in HD cameras to track every throw, calculate scores instantly and send the data to an app. It can also link to the DartCounter website, which has become the largest digital darts community in the world with more than one million monthly active users.

“Imagine a world where an aspiring player picks up a dart for the first time. They learn through data-powered coaching and interactive games. They join a digital community with millions of players around the world. They test their skills against the world’s best players. They walk into a local venue, and their profile, statistics, and achievements follow them automatically,” Tattershall explains.

“A decade later, they qualify for a major tournament, and every throw, every training session and every milestone along that journey has been captured, supported and enhanced by technology. Today, that sounds ambitious, but 10 years from now, it will feel completely normal, because the future of darts is not simply more tournaments, bigger prize funds, or larger audiences. The future of darts is a connected sport.”

Target Live

Given that Luke Littler has had such an impact on the sport, how about playing a game of darts with him? If you think that sounds impossible, Target Darts would like to introduce you to Target Live, where fans will be able to play live with Luke and other professional players using a real dartboard – no matter where they are in the world.

Building on the success of DartCounter’s online match play, where players have already had opportunities to face professionals online, Target Live will create a new format for darts entertainment, with planned regular live sessions featuring professional players, celebrities, coaches and darts personalities. Fans and players will be able to join these experiences, compete alongside their favourite names and take part in live moments that bring them closer to the sport’s biggest personalities. And unlike a simulation or video game, every dart thrown is real.

“No sport gives fans the ability to compete directly against the greatest player in the world at their craft. You can watch Lionel Messi, you can buy his shirts, but you can’t play against him in five aside. That opportunity doesn’t exist. But with Target Live, it does,” Tattersall explains. “Target Live creates the opportunities for players to compete against Luke Littler in a one-leg slam… or compete on a global leaderboard for the fastest around-the-clock score. Not a simulation, it’s not a game, it’s a real match in real time with pro players, with influencers, with celebrities on the other side of that dart board. We’re enabling anyone with an OMNI not just to watch darts, but to be a part of it.”

Zoe Burton, Chief Transformation Officer at Target Darts, points to a couple of examples of what Target Live might offer, including a coaching throw-along. “Think of Peloton, an online fitness class – it will actually be a professional player who is teaching and driving a routine that you can play along with, and you can see how you’re performing. I think that will really change the way that people try to interact with practising and training,” she says.

“The other is more of an entertainment format, bringing together – and this is an example of what we’re planning on doing – a podcast or chat show with different darts challenges. Imagine you have a pro player, a host and a couple of celebrities. You might have a bit of a general chit chat… but then actually allowing those players to play online versus people.”

Target Arcade

Alongside Target Live, the company is also launching Target Arcade, a gaming platform offering experiences that have been designed specifically for connected play. Target Arcade launches on October 29, 2026 with seven games – from avoiding the lava in Board is Lava to sinking ships in Battlesplash – with a new title added every month thereafter.

Some games are designed to bring families and friends together around the dartboard for pure fun, while others are built for serious players looking to sharpen their skills. A screen fitted next to the dartboard allows these gaming elements to be played as darts are thrown at that board. “Target Arcade uses 3D rendered games,” Burton says, “and built in is the level of graphics that you would typically see on a gaming platform. There are real opportunities to change the way that people are playing and get more people involved.

“It’s providing a different layer in terms of a traditional darts game, where you’re just throwing the darts. There’s using darts as a controller – so in Battlesplash, that’s actually using the darts to find a ship, to hit a duck. Alien Invasion also uses darts as a controller, as well as a tablet. So it’s not just a parent who can play; they can also get their children involved. My son can help kill those aliens as well by hitting on the iPad.”

“If we want to grow participation, we have to create experiences that appeal beyond traditional dart players,” Tattersall adds.

The Future Is Bright

Tattersall says Target Darts’ ambitious plans include tripling global participation in the sport, connecting millions of players on the OMNI and seeing dedicated darts venues in major markets globally. But what of Luke Littler, the teen who started this surge in the sport? “Somewhere in the world tonight, someone will pick up a dart for the very first time. Our job is to make sure that wherever that journey takes them, the sport is ready,” Tattersall says. “Through OMNI, we are now able to scale our Elite 1 training programme to reach the four corners of the world. What if the next superstar of darts is sitting there undiscovered in the United States, India or South Korea? Because the future of darts won’t be built by finding the next Luke Littler. It will be built by creating 1,000s of opportunities for future Luke Littlers to emerge across the world.”

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This feature appears in Issue 118 of Tabletop Gaming magazine