Luke Littler said he can sense a “tension” among his rivals in the face of his growing success as he continues his pursuit of a maiden World Darts Championship crown.
Littler has emerged as one of the faces of the sport across a meteoric rise that has seen him finish runner-up on debut at Ally Pally before winning the Premier League, World Series of Darts Finals and Grand Slam of Darts.
He also recently finished runner-up for BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson, such has been his impact on the prominence of darts in 2024.
Is the darting world jealous of the 17-year-old?
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John Part says Littler is not unbeatable in this year’s World Championship Darts despite his natural talent and showing grit to win a deciding set against Joyce
“I don’t know. I’d probably say some players do show it, mainly on the pro tour,” said Littler.
“But I’ve seen Scott Williams’ interview – he’s getting sponsorship opportunities, people asking him because of myself. So it’s good to see what I’ve done, especially for the players and whatever sponsors they can get.”
Littler survived an epic on Monday night to beat Ryan Joyce 4-3 and punch his ticket to the quarter-finals as he seeks to go one better than last year’s defeat to Luke Humphries in the final.
He is now the highest-seeded player left in a competition into which he had arrived with heightened expectations as one of the favourites to emerge as champion. By now he can afford a smile should he ever hear any sideways remarks.
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Littler will face Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals after edging Joyce past 4-3
“It’s definitely not to my face,” Littler added. “Not as soon as I walk in, but whenever I’m practising, I can just feel that tension. And I just laugh at it.”
Awaiting Littler in the quarter-finals is a meeting with Nathan Aspinall, who beat Ricardo Pietreczko 4-0 with an average of 94.28 having reeled off 10 straight legs.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Littler. “But I’ve won most of them. Nathan’s only got one win over me. It’s good to get the wins over Nathan. But it’s the last eight of the World Championship and anyone can win on the day.”
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Aspinall said he has been shown ‘no respect’ and has to keep proving himself
Littler admitted he is unlikely to speak to Aspinall during the build-up, underlining the importance of pushing friendships aside.
“Probably not. We’ll just keep ourselves to ourselves,” he said. “Obviously, he’ll celebrate New Year with his family and his two girls, and obviously I’ll celebrate with mum and dad.
“You’ve just got to go into every game how you would either way if you’re playing your best mate or someone you really dislike. You’ve just got to beat what’s in front of you.”
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