“He’s the best teenager I’ve ever seen,” said Phil Taylor – 16-time darts world champion – about Luke Littler.
The latter moved into the third round of the World Cup at Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally) in London thanks to a 3-1 win over Andrew Gilding (Gbr/number 20 in the world), where he will meet Matt Campbell (Can) on Wednesday. “He’s going to be the best of all time,” Taylor added of the 16-year-old, whose ease enthralls experts and fans alike.
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The 106.12 average points in his 3-0 opening win over Christian Kist (Ned) are the best value ever achieved by a World Cup debutant. While fans celebrated his youth with the chant “You go to school in the morning,” Littler tried to make it clear in an interview that he no longer does that. “There are only darts, darts, darts for me,” said the junior world champion, who had to wait until his 16th birthday (January 21) to meet the minimum age of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Since then, “The nuke” – his nickname – has exploded all expectations.
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Even though he already earned 25,000 pounds (around 28,900 euros) at the World Cup, he only treated himself to one kebab after his victories. “It was an incredible experience,” said Littler, who quickly became a crowd favorite at Ally Pally. Also because he stayed on stage during a break and sang heartily to “Rockin’ all over the world” by Status Quo.
Four-time World Cup semi-finalist Wayne Mardle described him as “fearless, carefree, brilliant” and called him the Messi of darts: “Why shouldn’t he be able to win the tournament?” Various bookmakers are now thinking that too: Littler appears among the top five candidates at several betting providers.
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I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
