Luke Littler, the 16-year-old darts prodigy, is just three matches away from one of sport’s greatest triumphs after blitzing the legendary Raymond van Barneveld to reach the quarter-finals of the world championships.
In a stunning exhibition of throwing that left his opponent telling him he could “go all the way”and become the tournament’s youngest champion, the fearless debutant threatened to inflict a whitewash on one of his idols before romping to a 4-1 victory.
“I went 2-0 up, went 3-0 up and I was just saying to my family three legs away, one set away and I am over the line. I’ve done it. Unbelievable,” Littler said.
With the teenager averaging more than 105 along the way, it is becoming increasingly hard to see who can stop him after two-time winner Gary Anderson joined former champion Gerwyn Price and last year’s winner Michael Smith in being dumped out at Alexandra Palace.
Littler, who only completed his GCSEs this summer, will now face Anderson and Price’s conqueror Brendan Dolan for a place in the semifinal. The youngster is already guaranteed £50,000 ($100,000), with the £500,000 ($1,000,000) first prize now tantalisingly within reach.
He will do so with the words of five-time world champion van Barneveld ringing in his ears after revealing the Dutchman told him following their match: “You can go all the way. I hope you go all the way.”
Earlier, Luke Littler celebrated winning his match against England's Andrew Gilding on day seven of the World Darts Championship. Photo / PA via AP
It is hard to think of another sport that could throw up a world championship showdown between a 16-year-old prodigy and a twice-retired grandfather almost four decades his senior.
Since Littler became the youngest player ever to win a match at the tournament, it has been repeatedly pointed out van Barneveld won the last of his world titles – beating Phil Taylor in arguably the game’s most epic contest – 20 days before the teenager was born.
And after a video of Littler playing with a magnetic board while still in nappies and one of him opening presents on Christmas Day last week both went viral, he posted another on social media on the eve of Saturday’s match showing him arms outstretched imitating van Barneveld’s celebration at the age of 3.
The man he idolised is now among Littler’s growing army of fans, van Barneveld having put the teenager’s meteoric rise into context when he said on Friday: “When I was 16, I was playing with Lego or Playmobil.”
There was a warm embrace between the pair as they took to the stage but both men quickly got down to business, each hitting maximums with their second three darts in a first leg won unflinchingly by the youngster.
Van Barneveld immediately responded in kind but Littler quickly seized control, holding his throw again before breaking his opponent with an 11-darter to secure the first set.
It got better for Littler at the start of the second as he ruthlessly punished a missed double-top checkout, prompting the first chants of “You’ve got school in the morning” from the Alexandra Palace crowd.
Such was Littler’s dominance, he was able to afford to miss doubles of his own as he held his throw, and although Van Barneveld forced him to throw for the set, there was simply no sign of the teenager buckling as he stormed to a 2-0 lead with a 12-dart leg.
Even more worrying for van Barneveld, he had the superior average in the second set but Littler’s finishing was proving the difference.
The theme continued in set three as Littler produced another 12-dart leg on his own throw and he looked like breaking van Barneveld again until the Dutchman took full advantage of a bounce-out to level.
Littler grimaced and four missed darts at a double followed to allow van Barneveld to claim his first leg against the throw of the match but the Dutchman missed two doubles to win the set to let the teenager off the hook.
The maximums were also starting to flow from the Littler arm and he coolly secured the decider to move to within one set of victory.
Littler’s average soared to 110 in the third set but, as victory neared, his finishing began to desert him.
After the pair traded legs in the fourth, Littler almost took out 170 before missing three darts to give him a chance to throw for the match.
He recovered to take it to a decider – on the van Barneveld throw – and duly produced a maximum but the Dutchman held his nerve to get a set on the board and avoid the whitewash.
There were no breaks of throw in what proved to be the final set, with Littler sealing victory in remarkable fashion by turning down a 170 finish before planting the winning double.
