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armagnac
24 Aug 24 17:35
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Date Joined: 28 Aug 04
| Topic/replies: 61,958 | Blogger: armagnac's blog
He won't just win, he'll get the most votes any winner has ever had i think.
Gonna go back to january when i was gagging to get on but feared the euro's and the olympics, as a euro win would of seen all bets lose. The games was less of a worry coz in my head, Luke would only lose to someone who does something really special, not just win one gold. Someone had to win two or three, then he'd of been in trouble. Hence my excitement over Emma, got a bit carried away with that in the aftermath lol. Then i refocused on plan A and started to research what Luke had been upto after not following his progress at all. This thread now highlights that plus other bullet points that contribute to make him fantastic value to get the award.

Here are the bullet points i will digest.

1) Keely
2) Impact
3) The award
4) A-List support
5) Documentary
6) Voting power

Before that, lets see his achievements till this point on his debut season in the PDC.

7 titles in 7 months (1 per month)
1st player to win multiple player championship titles in 2024
Youngest player ever to hit a televised 9 dart finish
Youngest player ever to win a PDC title
Joint record holder for most points in the premier league
9 darter v Humphries in prem final and won title
9 darter v Aspinall in 1st European tour event, then won title
9 darter v Cross in euro tour final, won that title
9 darter v Turetta then average 109.64 to beat Searle on his players championship debut
1st to throw fastest four 9 darters in one calendar year, Van Gerwan and Price only other players to achieve this but both took longer to do it. Luke still has the chance to be the 1st player in history to have five 9 darters in a calendar year.
Littler youngest player ever to hit a broadcast 9 darter, in 2021 at the age of 14
Youngest player to reach the PDC world championship final
Broke record for highest average for a debutant at the world darts championship with a 106.12
Luke finished his debut season on the world series circuit in 1st place, which means he will lead the seeds for the finals in september
Named on Forbes under 30 list, which was an online vote

This year’s class was selected from hundreds of nominations, submitted through a public online nomination form and generated from research and conversations with industry sources.
.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/04/09/30-under-30-europe-sports--games-darts-phenom-luke-littler-headlines-the-athletes-and-entrepreneurs-announcing-their-arrival-on-the-big-stage/

1) Keely

To compare the fav with Kelly Holmes is simply not comparable imo, by 2004 Kelly was a household name and A-Lister who actually won two golds 800 and 1500, so no shock whatsoever she was awarded SPOTY.
Keely, Keely who ? yeah she done good but she didn't even attend the closing ceremony and is hardly lighting up media stories post games. Hardly known to the wider public before the games and a bit more known now. That is not on a level with Holmes, maybe in 4 years time yes but certainly not now.
As for potential votes, i see a very strong turnout from the 60+ crowd.

2) Impact

Darts long considered a pub game, Phil's success and with the emergence of the the PDC and SkySports the money came in, a professional appearance took hold and it went from game to sport. However with the arrival of Luke he has took it to another level and transcended darts into a global phenomenon. With other pro dart players in awe and thankful for what Luke has done for their sport, closest a dart player came to winning SPOTY was Phil in 2010, losing out to Tony who finally won the grand national after years of trying. So Phil never really stood a chance, year on year from then darts has grown. I actually believe Luke right now is probably just as well known if not more than Phil was at the height of his career, especially as social media is bigger than ever these days.

The impact Luke has had in pubs and anywhere with a dartboard is simply insane, i go to a lot of pubs on a daily basis for work. Ive spoken to many locals and landlords, they all say the same thing, you can't get on the dart board as so many more people are now practising. Dart teams cant even practice, loads of landlords have had to put extra boards in the pubs so the teams can practice before a match. Luke has completely changed the landscape, he's not just made darts popular. He's made into an addition !!

3) The Award

So SPOTY is actually the same day as the world darts championship begins On Dec 15th, advertising will start long before and Littler Fever will start once again. Especially with non dart fans who may not have him on their radar. Its a very timely reminder for all these people of what he did the year before, matches will start in the afternoon and spoty will be on in the evening. I can foresee a very, very busy night on SM that sunday.

I believe everyone involved with darts in a professional manor from the players to the Hearns, advertisers, sponsors and the governing bodies will finally want to see there sport get the recognition it deserves. Luke winning SPOTY from the public will finally achieve this after years and years, it would be seen as a pinnacle moment. From pub game to sport to SPOTY.

Jessica Gadirova won young spoty and was also a nominee for the main award in 2022, so no excuse for just giving Luke young spoty. Although she was 18 the night of the award and Luke will still be only 17. So even if they come up with some daft rule that he's under 18 and not eligible to be shortlisted for the main award. Im almost certain all stakes would be returned after a few thousand emails to IBAS complaining he should of never been on the market if not eligible to win the award.

4) A-List support

Luke is a Man U fan and already received plaudits from Rio Ferdinand and Luke Shaw, his fans range from sports stars, movie stars to national treasures. Vast support from all walks of life, i imagine the Hearns will be using all there influence to make sure he gets plenty of pushing for the award come the night.
Anyone remember Gio Fletcher winning the jungle with all her powerful celeb friends. I fully expect similar for Luke on the night and the lead up.

5) Documentary

This will appear on our screens later this year, and make no bones about it. This will be mostly about Luke's rise, its meant to be about all players, behind the scenes, friends and family involvement. It will be but you can guarantee Luke will feature far more heavily. Luke is the goose who lays golden eggs as far as sky sports are concerned, he is the new superstar and this documentary will be designed to get people tuning into the upcoming world darts championship once again where viewing records were smashed.

There is a chance the split from his girlfriend will be covered where he publicly defended her after she was treated roughly on SM, telling people to lay off her. Which may of caused him distress, so he will get some love for that.
He actually dumped her via text message, but the media love him so much that they pretty much defended him by saying. Well he is only 17, thats what all kids do. If that was any one a bit older and not as loved the media would of crucified them. The kid can do no wrong !!

Luke has also took quite a bit of stick over his weight since he burst onto the scene, i will be quite shocked if this don't play a big part in the documentary. Has it upset him what ex players have said and random people on SM ? we all know that digging out someones weight issues leads to massive motivation to vote for someone as seen before on RTV events.
A very recent picture of him winning the cheshire open does look like he has lost a bit of weight, so has something hit home ?

6) Voting power

As mentioned he's already performed well in an online vote by getting on the forbes under 30 list.
There is a very good article i will C&P in the next post coz im getting tired now, the numbers are quite insane.
He was watched on sky sports and now tv by nearly 5 million in the final back in january, which broke all records by a non footy sport. It matched viewing figures from premier league matches.
I think if that final was shown on terrestrial tv it would of had 15-30 million viewers imo with the hype surrounding it at the time.
Also how many pubs around the country had 20-30-50-100-200 people watching him that evening. That would of counted as one for rating purposes. Not to forget house gathering of countless people.

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By:
armagnac
When: 24 Aug 24 17:39
.
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/pdc-world-darts-championship-2024-luke-humphries-littler-sky-sports/#:~:text=Luke%20Humphries'%20win%20over%2016,consumer%20(DTC)%20streaming%20service.

PDC World Darts Championship final hits record peak audience of 3.71m on Sky Sports
Final between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler pulls in 4.8m people, Sky’s most-watched darts event ever.

Peak audience was up 143% on last year’s final
Sky Sports’ social channels clocked up 27.6m video views
Final was most-watched non-soccer sports event ever on Sky and Now
A peak audience of 3.71 million watched the final of the 2024 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship on Sky Sports, making it the highest ever non-soccer audience on record for the UK pay-TV broadcaster.

Luke Humphries’ win over 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace on 3rd January pulled in a total audience of 4.8 million people, making it the most-watched darts event ever on Sky and its Now direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service.

The peak audience was a 143 per cent increase on the 2023 final when Michael Smith beat Michael van Gerwen.

The huge increase can be explained by Littler’s surprise run to the final, which broke several viewership records in earlier rounds.

Littler’s win against Brendan Dolan was the most watched quarter-final of the PDC World Darts Championship ever on Sky Sports, with a peak of 1.4 million. His semi-final victory over Rob Cross averaged 1.79 million viewers and had a peak of 2.32 million viewers.

In comparison, the viewing peak was up 165 per cent on the 2023 semi-final and up 106 per cent on the previous semi-final record in December 2017. It was also up 40 per cent compared to the previous overall record of 1.65 million for the final in January 2015.

With the UK gripped by darts fever, Sky Sports’ social channels clocked up 27.6 million World Darts Championship final video views on the night of the event. The Sky Sports Darts account on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, saw 149.1 million impressions across the whole tournament and 9.9 million video views of content around the final alone. In contrast, there were 16.5 million video views for all of the 2023 tournament.

Instagram racked up 11.8 million video views and there was a 10.2 million total reach on Facebook. The Sky Sports website and app also saw 2.44 million follow the live blog, up 307 per cent compared to last year’s final’s 648,000.

“Even more of the nation have fallen in love with the darts over the last few weeks and as a long-term partner of the PDC, we are thrilled that this most entertaining of sports is in the spotlight,” said Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports managing director.

“Over 4.8 million people tuned in to watch the remarkable final last night, making it the most watched non-football sports event ever on Sky and Now. Our congratulations to both Lukes and to all the players who contributed to such a memorable World Championship. We can’t wait for the Premier League event to get started in February.”

Matt Porter, chief executive of the PDC, added: “This year’s World Championship was record-breaking on every level and it’s fitting that its final reached the biggest audience in the history of the PDC and Sky darts. The two Lukes delivered an amazing contest that kept us all on the edge of our seats and finished off a thrilling and dramatic tournament in memorable fashion.

“The World Darts Championship is a staple part of Christmas viewing, delivering drama and suspense with every match and it sets up perfectly what is sure to be a phenomenal year for darts.”

SportsPro says…
The PDC World Darts Championship is a highlight of the festive sporting schedule in the UK and has produced several water cooler moments over the years – see last year’s nine-darter in the final – but these viewing figures are unprecedented for Sky.

For context, the final’s audience was larger than the broadcaster’s coverage of last year’s Ryder Cup and eclipsed daily action from the men’s 2023 Ashes. The semi-final’s peak viewing was also in line with Sky’s live coverage of the Premier League, Carabao Cup finals and Championship playoffs. Such was the excitement ahead of the darts final, there were calls to make it available for free, though Sky reportedly received no offers from free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters.

Of course, the driving force behind all this has been Littler, who’s stunning run to the final captured the public’s imagination. Eager to capitalise on his appeal, the PDC has rewarded Littler a spot in this season’s Premier League Darts, which recently announced BetMGM as its new title sponsor.

Attention will now turn to what Littler, Sky and the PDC do next to ride this wave of interest. For Littler, further press attention and riches surely await. Sky, meanwhile, has announced a new access-all-areas premium documentary series, ‘Darts’, which will follow PDC players beyond the oche and debut later this year.
By:
stu
When: 24 Aug 24 17:53
TLDR

ffs army Laugh
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 09:22
I've come to the conclusion this market is priced up on Athletics v Darts and not Luke v Keely.

History says Athletics wins every time, the market gives no credit for what a kid has achieved against grown men in his field. I'm not even sure it will matter if Luke wins another TV title or major, breaks the record for 9 darters by getting one more. For me what he has already achieved this year at his age on debut is quite incredible.
His backers will have to wait for the documentary when we will see Luke surrounded by family and friends, get to know his personality. The other side to him away from the business side we've seen. Then i think the market will react to whats being shown.

Voting attitudes in recent times have changed dramatically concerning SPOTY, its gone from a upper/middle class award show where premium sports like tennis, athletics and F1 where the older viewers held court over there favourites to a bogged down RTV event.
Dare i say it will be dragged down again this year with arrival of Luke, yes i do believe it will. The last time the lower classes got involved in a serious vote was brexit, ya council estate lot. Where the vote turnout % went skywards. That was lovely touch i recall on that market.
Well that is exactly what Luke will bring to the table, mass voting from the poorest of our society who enjoy nothing but going to there local pub and throwing some free arrows.
The market factors none of this into there calculations coz it lives in the past and only something as big as Luke can break it apart, which it will.
I'm also expecting kids as young as 8/9+ to also vote en masse which will be the 1st time in the history of this award it will happen, as in this day and age most kids this young all have smart phones passed down from there parents. Any who don't will simply pester mum and dad to vote for Luke anyway.
This age bracket he fishes alone and it will prove to be substantial imo
By:
bearcub
When: 25 Aug 24 10:11
ITV4 Wednesday 7pm

Sports stars Championship fishing
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 10:15
.
https://www.sportsstarsfishing.co.uk/Competitors


Anyone think Barry Hearn had a hand in Luke's involvement Mischief
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 10:15
Thanks bear Love
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 10:27
In the run up to the world championships, you gotta think Sky Sports will want Luke making as many public appearances and doing as much TV work as possible to achieve maximum hype for there premium event
By:
stu
When: 25 Aug 24 10:52
This thread has massively affected the market Plain
By:
stu
When: 25 Aug 24 10:53
Anyway, thought you were a Finucane backer army
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 11:07
Off out stu, word of mouth takes a little time...off to spread the word a little more, bit by bit but now the money is down its being spread all over the country.
As i said  be patient
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 11:09
got over 3 months yet, the reach will be far and wide by then
By:
armagnac
When: 25 Aug 24 11:12
90%+ of general population don't even realise there is market, that will change don't worry about that
By:
ashbourne
When: 25 Aug 24 18:23
Are you his mum?
By:
stu
When: 25 Aug 24 19:19
He's everyone's mum....if he's backing/ramping them Grin
By:
----you-have-to-laugh---
When: 25 Aug 24 19:43
Hardest job is getting him nominated.
By:
GeorgeBrush
When: 25 Aug 24 20:35
Gb's thread 8.4 to 6.4  :)
Army's thread  6.4 to 6.6  :(
By:
Jim Duncan
When: 25 Aug 24 23:02
lol Laugh
By:
Jim Duncan
When: 25 Aug 24 23:06
"Broke record for highest average for a debutant at the world darts championship with a 106.12"

...if you come across any, that's the stat you should use on any general public doubters Mischief
By:
armagnac
When: 26 Aug 24 11:39
when he makes the list and the polls have him over 50% the market will act accordingly, can't help a dumb market pricing his chances on his sport and not the person.
The Documentary should see a drop, we shall have to wait and see
By:
armagnac
When: 26 Aug 24 11:49
The objective was to get on before the trailers start airing, now we wait
By:
stu
When: 26 Aug 24 11:50
Drifted to 7.0

Should have been the Lando Lamborghini instead looking at market.
By:
armagnac
When: 26 Aug 24 12:00
Lando no concern to me stu, same as Keely isn't. This market thrives on athletics and motor racing, tennis etc its a generational thing. The market fails to realise we've entered a new generation of kids with phones and there hero is Luke.
By:
armagnac
When: 26 Aug 24 12:31
Has Keely changed Athletics ? NO
Will Lando change Formula 1 if he wins ? Probably not

Has Luke changed Darts ? YES

I guess the market is worried over his nomination, i think the Hearns will do there best to get him on
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 14:06
Regarding Luke's price, i only posted stuff that's been available online all year..at least its now available to see in one place. The early backers would of known about his achievements to date.
As nice as another major would be with another 9 darter to break even more records, i don't think either or both would have much impact at all on his price from here. Especially as Lando has now entered the equation, which imo is more a danger to Keely finishing 2nd if he does win the title. I'll have a little look at Lando later on today, as the petrol heads always turn up.

Back to Luke's price, only 2 things can seriously contract his price from here as darts according to SPOTY is not a sport, oh i guess his inclusion in the shortlist worries some so maybe holding his price up a bit. Not sure if the bbc worry about rating's ? you'd like to think every program does as its what we've been led to believe. So his inclusion would surely see a substantial increase in viewers if selected, whereas being snubbed could have a very adverse affect on viewers. With many disgusted and boycotting proceeding's.

What airs on the documentary and the media stories afterwards gives backers the best hope of a sudden drop in price but the biggest drop will be when we start seeing the polls appear, I'll be shocked if he's not leading all reliable polls.
So if the documentary bears no fruit, Luke's backers will have to wait for December and decent sized polls to materialise before his price gets the respect it deserves.
Not all bad, plenty of time for little top ups.
By:
stu
When: 27 Aug 24 14:49
You're neglecting the Finucane ramping army....
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 14:59
I was planning a massive top 3 bet for her when we actually get a market but as it stands luke wins lando 2nd and your miss hurty let will finish 3rd, poor emma will just miss out. so its now become a watching brief on F1 to see what happens. if his run fails, you will get ya wish. not very patient are you ? one thing is certain your girl does not win the award
By:
duffy
When: 27 Aug 24 15:10
To be fair, it was pretty much pointed out on Page 1 of the official SPOTY thread that Littler was going to be the winner.Grin
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 15:16
By a landslide duffy, the era of spoty and the era of darts have both changed massively in the last few years. i will post on the latter later on today.
back to emma top 3, i'd still have a punt at 20/1 she might get past keely into 3rd. risk over reward and all that but i'd be far more happy taking 10/1 if lando misses out. can't see a para beating emma, not even hewitt. They just don't attract voters unfortunate for them
By:
Hibore
When: 27 Aug 24 16:12
Good effort Army. However there is perhaps a slight flaw in your reasoning. Under 25’s don’t sit through and vote in stuffy 2 hour BBC sports review shows. They vote in Love Island and BGT….they won’t even know this is on.
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:24
It will be a boring sunday evening Hib, when virtually the whole of the Uk is at home. Darts fever will be at max levels with the championships started earlier on in the day. SM will be going Littler mad, i also believe once he makes the shortlist insta and twitter will go bonkers for him and a campaign is highly to materialise. The hype around him will be vast, he's the golden egg machine. His face will be plastered EVERYWHERE in the run up, that's a guarantee !!!
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:25
highly likely*
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:27
Not forgetting the media and papers all jumping on the bandwagon, with the headline 'Can Luke Littler win it this time' ? probably bleeting out for weeks before hand and most certainly on the morning of the award.
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:37
Just one more thing hib, your right they don't have to sit through 2 hours of anything..all they have to do is vote, im sure there phones will alert them when lines open. they seem to do everything else these days being the 3rd hand. you know beep, oh you've got a message..time to vote Wink can imagine there will be enough tweets and posts bouncing around SM to remind anyone who can't be arsed watching the contrived nature of the show. I do think you will be proved wrong though and the viewing numbers will be the highest seen for years, ofc down to our Luke.
By:
Hibore
When: 27 Aug 24 16:38
Don’t get too involved Army. Keely is home and hosed unfortunately for you. BBC will have her up in lights on the day from 8 year old to world best.

Still think Littler will opt for young SPOTY as will definitely be asked.
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:44
guessing it won't be nommed or want to be nommed and then guessing he won't have a decent VT or get many votes.
lots of guessing hib, i'd rather be positive and guess the opposite to you if thats ok.
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:45
6/1 or 1/2 mmmmm let me think on that
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 16:47
if every 6/1 bet i placed was as good as this, i'd be a very rich man and that my friend is all i need to know. its simply value
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 17:10
If i was a layer of Luke or backer of Keely i'd spend less time worrying about whether he makes the list or not, that is totally out of our hands. I'd be more presently concerned if Luke's weight issues gets brought up in the documentary and if it does, has it upset him. or any future media articles covering this topic, things can only get worse for his layers. the backers have nothing but positives that could improve his chances. From news stories to something amazing happening in a tournament. like two 9 darters in the final of a major and winning it lol ya never know, now that would make a difference. remind me again what the fav is up to for the rest of the year ?
By:
armagnac
When: 27 Aug 24 17:15
oh yeah not going to the closing ceremony, while Luke has been attending darts events all over the UK..turning out to see fans and kids, helping the sport grow.
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