When Eloise Milburn made her debut for the Surrey A women’s darts team against Norfolk in October, she blamed nerves for a disappointing 3-2 defeat in her match.
Happily, she is now able to call on expert advice from the most nerveless player on the planet – her new boyfriend Luke Littler, who has shattered records with his run to Tuesday evening’s World Darts Championship semifinals at the age of 16.
Littler and 21-year-old Eloise met through another shared passion, the Xbox football game FIFA, and on Monday they went public with their romance by kissing on television after the teenager’s quarterfinal victory.
While Littler’s astonishing success has catapulted him on to the world stage, with a six-figure payday from the current tournament alone, Eloise’s experience of competitive darts has so far been confined to venues in places such as Great Yarmouth and Prestatyn.
Until recently Eloise, who lives with her parents Phil and Amanda in Hersham, Surrey, played for her county’s B team, and when she made the step up to the A team three months ago, she posted on social media that “nerves unfortunately got the better of me” and she missed “so many match darts” as she was narrowly defeated 3-2. “Pretty gutted with today’s game,” she said.
By then she had already been introduced by mutual friends to Littler, then still unknown outside the darts world, and they began playing FIFA together online despite living 200 miles apart.
Judging by his dominant performances in the World Darts at London’s Alexandra Palace, Littler does not know the meaning of the word nerves, and it may be no coincidence that his girlfriend was soon improving her own results on the oche.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
