Emma Paton on Luke Littler's dominance, the rise of darts and life behind the scenes

Emma Paton sat down with Leasing Options to reflect on Luke Littler's record-breaking dominance at the World Matchplay and revealed whether she believes the 19-year-old can complete a clean sweep of every major title this season.

The Sky Sports presenter also discussed darts' continued rise in popularity, shared her favourite venues on the calendar, and lifted the lid on some of the biggest misconceptions about presenting live sport on television.

Paton, who has also launched her own range of darts in collaboration with Winmau, took a trip down memory lane with Leasing Options and revealed the first car she ever drove and the memories it still brings back.

Interviewer: What was Blackpool like during the tournament? It's always known for a great atmosphere, isn't it? Was it a great atmosphere this time?

Emma: Yeah, I feel like it is always [great]. I feel like it's proper darts fans. With the Ally Pally and Premier League, they're at these big venues where you've got people just kind of really wanting a night out.

In Blackpool, they're there to watch darts. I feel like with Blackpool it's proper darts fans who are kind of queuing up by the door, trying to get a glimpse of players and trying to chat to people. It's always one of my standout weeks of the year, or standout nine days.

So it's one of my favourite tournaments. I think, probably outside the Worlds, it probably is my favourite tournament, so I'm always looking forward to it. But I feel like this year it just had a little bit of everything. It didn't take long to catch fire. Even in the first round, there were stories with Luke Humphries going out, getting beaten by Cameron Menzies.

That was a huge story. Then in the second round you had some of the matches of the whole tournament. The match between Nathan Aspinall and Luke Littler and Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman. They were captivating matches, but obviously the story throughout was just that Luke Littler was tearing up the record books and just setting the stage alight.

So I felt like it was so different to his campaign the previous year, where he had quite a few slow starts and needed these comebacks. This year, from his very opening match, the opening night of the whole tournament, he was just incredible to watch. It was wicked to be a part of, as always, and is one of my standout tournaments.

Like I said, it's very much darts fans, but each year it's like you've got more and more people trying to get a glimpse of the players, more and more people hanging out outside, which is strange because I never thought that would happen. Year on year, the interest in darts seems to be growing. Blackpool is a real hub of proper, true darts fans.

Interviewer: Luke Littler continues to dominate the sport. What is it like in the studio and at events to witness such greatness?

Emma: Honestly, we sit there in the studio with Wayne [Mardle], with Webby [Mark Webster], with John [McDonald], and whoever it is, and we're just like, ‘What else can we say about this incredible talent?” I feel like we've run out of ways to describe him and actual topics to talk about.

The new topic this time was the fact that he was breaking records. He ended up with the highest-ever tournament average, and by some way as well. It was five points above Phil Taylor's previous record, which had stood for 16 years.

Highest tournament average, highest average in a final as well. Not quite the highest match average, but I'm sure he'll be back to break that one. Then just this actual insanity, really, that he's going for this clean sweep of majors in 2026. He's just ticking them off the list.

It's really hard to see where he can trip up. Maybe it is when it's a different format and you think, well, could it be the Grand Prix when it's double-in? But actually, his finishing was solid during the tournament. That was right up there.

So it's tough for the other guys. Even looking at the final there, I think Gezzy [Gerwyn Price] actually played good in the final. Maybe his finishing could have been a bit better, but he didn't embarrass himself by any means. It's just the fact that Littler is so incredible and he's so motivated. He's hungry for more, which I think you can see by the fact that he's got these new targets every tournament that starts.

I think that's the most impressive thing about him. The fact that everything he's achieved has come so fast, so early on in his career as well. The fact that he's only 19. Every tournament there's a new target and a new motivation, sometimes ones we haven't even thought of. He's clearly a massive student of the game as well.

Even going into the Matchplay, we were laughing about this whole clean sweep of majors, but actually for him it's a very realistic situation. Out of everything, his drive and the renewed drive at every big tournament is actually maybe the most impressive thing about him, and that's why he is a champion and why he is a winner.

I don't know when it will stop or where it will stop. We might be in a period now where this is peak Luke Littler. We just don't know, do we? Because we don't know what's to come. But he is so impressive.

Interviewer: Netflix has commissioned a series featuring Luke Littler playing against the general public. Does this show how huge darts has become in the UK?

Emma: Honestly, it's insane. I think off the back of the 2024 World Championship, when he reached the final and lost to Luke Humphries, that was when he obviously announced himself. Sixteen years old and had this fairy-tale run to the final.

That was when he captured everybody's imagination and almost sort of ripped up what we knew about darts previously. He's taken the sport to places it's never been before. The fact that after that you were sitting on the sofa on The Jonathan Ross Show, this is a darts player.

The sponsorship deals too, you mentioned Netflix, but signing deals with BoohooMAN, Xbox and McDonald's. For people involved in darts, it was funny in a way, because you just thought, this is so out of the normal darts realm. But he's taken the sport, and it's just exploded because of him and his popularity.

Even the viewing figures on Sky, off the back of that World Championship run to the final, the Premier League the following year — the viewing figures were up something like 189%. I don't even know what that means, but that just sounds ridiculous.

You see the Netflix news, and you just say, "Oh yeah, that actually makes sense," because it's the next in the long line of things that he's doing now. But I don't know who on earth could beat him in this, playing just everyday people. So I'm fascinated to see what it entails, really.

Interviewer: With Luke dominating the sport, do you think it has a positive or negative impact as some fans believe it is boring…

Emma: It's so tough, right? Because I feel like fans are stuck between, "Oh, we want to see Luke Littler do these amazing, incredible things that we've never seen before," but then also at the same time, "Oh, it's boring seeing Luke Littler doing these amazing, incredible things that we've never seen before."

So I feel like fans just need to enjoy this sort of generational talent. We've literally never seen this before. In time, this could be looked back on as him at his peak, and that could be it. So I think fans just need to chill a little bit and try and enjoy it. It's like Usain Bolt from 2008 to 2016 when he was winning every major, whether it's the Olympics or the World Championships. I know darts is different because there are so many tournaments, and maybe that's the thing, really.

But I think people just need to sit back and try and enjoy someone who is just a one-in-a-million talent, really, and chill out.

Interviewer: Do you have any particular favourite venues or cities that you enjoy going to?

Emma: It's a tough one because I love them all, you know, Joe. But I think some of the European venues of the Premier League are incredible because they're so huge.

I think Rotterdam was always one that, for me, stands out because obviously the Dutch love their darts, but also the fact that everyone in there is wearing orange and it's just a sea of orange. So I always think that's really cool.

Berlin as well, where I think over the years the atmosphere has really grown, in what again is a huge arena at the Uber Arena, and Antwerp was added this year to the Premier League, and it kind of exceeded my expectations, really.

Then I've done the World Series in New York before. New York's one of my favourite cities anyway, but I just think the fact that darts is at Madison Square Garden, which is just this iconic venue generally.

I think that one probably stands out as well. The Ally Pally is probably just my favourite because I love the Worlds, and even walking in there I'm just like, "Oh, we're back." I could probably go through the whole tournament calendar and pick out the venues.

Interviewer: You’ve released your own darts; did you ever expect the sport to have such a big impact on your life?

Emma: No, honestly, not at all. When I joined, I felt lucky to have come into a sport that was really welcoming, and I had a really great start to joining the darts community.

But I still felt a bit removed from it all, whereas now darts is really my life. Obviously, I'm very in it when I'm at darts tournaments, but even outside of that, whether it's following players, following events - not just the ones that are on TV either - but following ProTours online, Euro Tours, or even following stuff on Dartconnect when I'm out. Your life sort of becomes really immersed in darts, basically.

So no, I didn't think it would have that much of a grip on me, but here we are. I do love it. Bringing out the darts was just, I guess, an extension of that because I've got a partnership with Winmau, and they said when we first started working together, "I think it would be really cool if you brought some darts out," because typically it's players who have darts. So let's do something a bit cool and fun.

Nothing too serious. It was a really cool process because with players, obviously their darts are an extension of them. The colours almost incorporate part of their character, whereas for me it was a bit of a clean slate because we were starting from scratch. It was a very fun process.

Interviewer: Do you have any favourites on the darts circuit that you root for?

Emma: I feel like I'm a real romantic when it comes to sport, so I think I find myself rooting for those former champions or people where I like the nostalgia.

When I started, the first darts that I covered was in 2020, and that was kind of when Michael van Gerwen was still really the main guy. Gerwyn Price had a brilliant year - I think he won the Worlds at the end of that year, in 2021 - but it was still very much Michael van Gerwen.

That was when I started in the sport, and he was such a legend and an icon... and also he was one of the first people to actually talk to me and introduce himself, which I always find hilarious because I was like, "Yeah, I know who you are."

But there was a real politeness with that, so I just think he's a class act. He's always one that I really hope can still win majors. And I guess in that same vein, Gary Anderson is another one because it was kind of before my time, really, that he was winning world titles and major tournaments.

So again, nostalgia - I always find myself wanting him to do it again at some point while I'm involved in darts. Some of the real legends, I think, is the answer. But also, like I said with Michael, I just think he's classy. I like them all. I try not to have favourites.

Interviewer: Are there any misconceptions that people have about presenting live on TV and what's the most challenging interview that you've had to do?

Emma: Misconceptions... I don't know. I feel like people probably think it's super glamorous. Like, you just rock up, and you're just sitting there, chilling, getting fed things to say. And it's just not that.

Especially with darts, a lot of the time you're getting made up in changing rooms at leisure centres or at Premier League venues. You're just somewhere in the arena with a curtain around you trying to get ready. So, yeah, maybe it's less glamorous than people think. And there's a lot of work that goes into it.

It's turning up prepared. You're not reading an autocue. Whatever you're saying, you've thought about it, you've made notes, or you're ad-libbing. So I think there's maybe a little bit of a misconception there.

The most challenging interview I think is just speaking to people when they've lost major finals or lost big events. It's really tough. I think that's one of the beauties of darts and its charm - people are very honest, and it's still rooted in real authenticity. There aren't really these media-trained answers. For a lot of the players, they are just themselves.

So I think some of those interviews after really tough defeats are challenging. One of the challenging things, even just thinking about the Matchplay, was the Cameron Menzies situation in that second-round match with Ross Smith when he was unwell.

We didn't really know what had happened, so you have to fill half an hour without really knowing what's going on. In your ear, they're just saying, "Emma, just carry on chatting. Just chat with Wayne and Webby." Or you're being told, "OK, Menzies is being assessed. Make sure you tell the viewers that."

It can be challenging because it's live, but that's actually what I love about it because every session of darts is different. You don't know what the outcome's going to be... apart from Littler winning! But no, you don't always know what the outcome's going to be. That's the beauty of live sport.

Interviewer: What is one storyline darts fans should keep an eye out for in 2026?

Emma: Can anyone challenge Luke Littler at any major event? I'd love to see Luke Humphries get back to where he was. I know he's made some big finals this year, and the Premier League final, for example, could have gone differently. But I'd just love to see him really get back to pushing Luke Littler because I think that was a fantastic rivalry.

The same can be said for other players. Michael van Gerwen has slipped down the rankings. It just looks weird seeing him around world No. 7. So I really hope some of those players can have a resurgence.

Beau Greaves - I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do on a big stage against some of the guys because obviously she's playing on the tour now, she's won a ProTour title and, honestly, she's incredible.

I'm excited for the Grand Slam this year because she's played in it a couple of times before and not made it out of the group. She absolutely did herself justice those times - it's hard to get out of the group. So I'm excited to see that in a few months' time, and also the World Championship because she could easily have won her first-round match last year against Daryl Gurney. It just came down to one or two big moments.

I'm looking forward to seeing Beau on the biggest stages and showing what she can do against the guys. And just seeing whether some of the others can get back to Littler, which seems almost impossible at the moment. We'll see.

Interviewer: Beau Greaves has also been insured by Specsavers for her eyes, what do you make of that?

Emma: That made me laugh because I was thinking of David Beckham when his legs were insured. Again, it's just so funny that darts is in this sort of realm now. I think that's fantastic.

She's doing amazing things, so I love seeing those cool partnerships and a brand doing something that's a little bit different, and hopefully putting her on the map a little bit more.

Interviewer: Do you remember your first car? What was it and do you have any fond memories of it?

Emma: Yes! My first car was a blue Ford Fiesta. I think it takes you back to a different time of life, doesn't it? That first taste of independence where you can just get in your car and take yourself off wherever you want to go.

So yeah, good memories with friends, picking friends up, memories of playlists, getting CDs burned and putting them on in the car. So yeah, some really good memories.

Just a different time, I guess. I'm in the car a lot these days, but it's a little bit more solitary when I'm driving to work and things. But yeah, really good memories.