Darts legend sends advice to Luke Littler amid break-up with girlfriend

Darts legend Dennis Priestley has sent his advice to Luke Littler after his breakup with girlfriend Eloise Milburn.

Littler announced on Instagram that he had broken up with his partner, who he met during a PDC Development Tour event in Leicester last year.

The 17-year-old also pleaded with his 1.4 million followers not to send abuse to Milburn's social media accounts, writing: "Everyone needs to stop sending hate towards Eloise saying it's her fault this and that, I myself split up with Eloise and everyone just needs [to] give us some time, no need for everyone to message her and give her grief."

Now Priestley, the inaugural PDC World Champion in 1994, has spoken to OLBG and given Littler some advice about his long-term future in the sport.

The 74-year-old said: "Luke should just sit back a little bit and make assessments of where he wants to go with life.

"He'll do what he wants to do and so he should, but a little advice would be to step back and make himself financially safe for the rest of his life - that should be the priority.

"He's done well so far because his whole life has been in the spotlight, and it's a big thing for someone so young like him."

Priestley also responded to comments from 11-time PDC major winner James Wade, who told darting detractors 'not to run Littler down'.

In his Daily Star and Daily Mirror column, Wade added: "He is brilliant for the game, but he is going to hit a bad spell. This is not his bad spell - he averaged 100 against Michael van Gerwen [at the World Matchplay].

"But it is inevitable, and when it happens, he is going to need support and guidance, not to be kicked when he is down. He is wonderful for the sport, and we owe him a debt of gratitude."

Priestley echoed those remarks, stating: "The expectations on his shoulders are really heavy.

"James Wade was right to say there'll be a dip in form for Luke. James has been around for a long time - he was just a young lad when I was playing. I've seen him come through and if James says something, it won't be far off the truth.

"People around Luke Littler need to safeguard him ... he won't be left alone, so people around him need to safeguard him.

"He may look at his bank account in the morning and think, 'Oh crikey, there's £1 million here, where did that come from?' But he's had to work for it. He's had to make sacrifices.

"He is still so young, so there's a lot of things that could be affecting him. He's such a talent and I'm sure he'll work his way through it.''