Teenager Luke Littler wants to “beat even more records” as he continues his dream World Darts Championship campaign with a quarter-final against Brendan Dolan on Monday.
The 16-year-old has burst onto the scene at Alexandra Palace and became the youngest player to reach the last eight when he hammered five-time world champion and his hero Raymond van Barneveld in the last 16 on Saturday.
That set up a winnable tie with Northern Irishman Dolan, who has seen off former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson in the last two rounds, on New Year’s Day and he is now dreaming of lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on Wednesday.
If Littler was to win the title it would be one of the greatest sporting stories and he would out-do several famous young achievers.
Pele was 17 when he won the World Cup with Brazil, Boris Becker claimed his first Wimbledon title at 18 while Mike Tyson was 20 when he became heavyweight world champion.
Littler, nicknamed ‘The Nuke’, has not heard of all of those names, including that of 2021 US Open singles champion Emma Raducanu, who his story shares many parallels with, but he believes there is more to come.
“Unbelievable, the names you have just said,” he said. “I know Mike, I only know Pele off FIFA and I don’t know the other ones.
“I have certainly broken the rules and records already but I know if my game is there I can beat even more records.
“My game is there, it is every darting kid’s, man’s, whoever’s dream to win it. I have certainly got the game, it is whatever happens on the day, whatever Luke Littler turns up.”
Littler’s impressive run has seen him hit the headlines around the world and enjoy celebrity status.
Littler and his family received complimentary tickets to watch Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday night, with Gunners pair Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale asking him for a photo, while players from his beloved Manchester United sent him good luck messages before the match with Van Barneveld.
“It was unbelievable,” he added. “I was walking to my room and one of the security guards from Arsenal said to me Declan and Aaron wanted a picture with me and I just went ‘a picture with me’, and they came out for one.
“They said they have a dartboard up in the changing room. It is crazy for them to want a picture with me, it should be the other way around.
“It was incredible to get the messages, obviously United didn’t get the win (at Forest), but Jonny (Evans) and Gary (Neville) are United legends and Jonny is still playing for us, it was just incredible.”
Rob Cross plays Chris Dobey in the opening match of 2024 while Michael van Gerwen should have too much for controversial Scott Williams and Luke Humphries takes on Dave Chisnall in the other quarter-final.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here