World champion Luke Humphries was at his clinical best to seal a hat-trick of Premier League wins on Thursday.

The world number one saw off Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall before impressively defeating Michael Smith 6-2 in the final in Dublin.

It gave Humphries control at the top of the table, following victories in Brighton and Nottingham.

The 29-year-old won the first four legs to take control of the showdown against Smith and wrapped up victory with double 16.

“The last three weeks have been fantastic,” Humphries told Sky Sports afterwards.

“The standard has been high. I’m not unbeatable but I’m putting in that stage of performance where it takes something big to beat me and nobody has done that so far.

“I’m just happy with the way I’m playing and if I keep playing like this then it will take a tough performance to beat me – that’s all I ask of myself.

“If someone beats me and I play well then I’m not too disappointed but the last three weeks have been a dream.

“I’m really pleased with the fashion I’ve won the last three nights.”

Humphries extended his lead to seven points as Michael van Gerwen was beaten 6-5 by Gerwyn Price, who ended a run of four successive quarter-final losses.

Luke Littler had a night to forget when he lost to Smith – for the third time – in the first round of night eight.

The 17-year-old succumbed 6-4, having led 3-1, his second quarter-final exit of the season.

It leaves him fifth in the standings after Aspinall gained two points for edging Rob Cross 6-5.

“It’s my first year in the Prem. Some weeks have gone to plan and some weeks have not,” Littler said.

“But it’s all about getting the points on the board. Obviously this is the halfway point, whatever happens from now until the end is the crucial part.”

Luke Littler will miss the Nordic Darts Masters in June due to family commitments, the Professional Darts Corporation has announced.

The 17-year-old has had a packed schedule since his astonishing run to the World Championship final at Alexandra Palace, where he lost to Luke Humphries.

Littler was given a Premier League place as a result of his heroics at the start of the year and has also won titles at the Bahrain Masters, Players Championship and Belgian Open.

However, Littler – who will make his US Darts Masters debut at Madison Square Garden in May – will not be part of the line-up in Copenhagen on June 7-8.

Newly crowned UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will take Littler’s place in the Danish capital.

World champion Luke Humphries delivered back-to-back nightly wins to move top of the Premier League with a 6-3 victory over Nathan Aspinall at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham.

Humphries, who also triumphed in Brighton, beat Michael Smith in his opening match and then comfortably saw off Peter Wright to reach a second successive final.

Aspinall had ended the hopes of Luke Littler with a 6-3 win in the semi-final, but soon found himself trailing against the world number one.

Humphries had secured an early break to lead 2-0 which he soon extended to 4-1 on the back of another maximum.

Aspinall clawed a couple of legs back to trail by just one with a break of his own by checking out on double top.

The world champion, though, made the most of some wayward finishing to take the next leg and move one away, which he set up for a 78 finish, landing treble 18 and double 12.

Humphries now moves two points clear at the top of the table, with Aspinall sitting fourth.

“I had two great performances in the first two games, and Nathan was fantastic against Luke, who is such an amazing player – it gets to the point where you are thinking ‘play with two darts’ so Nathan did well to beat him,” Humphries said on Sky Sports.

“It was not the best final, maybe as we had both played really well we felt the pressure was off us and relaxed a little bit, tried too hard.

“But back-to-back weeks in the Premier League is really tough, so I am really proud to have done that and to be top of the league.”

Humphries added: “What me and Luke have done since the worlds has been amazing for the sport. I think the sport is in the best place possible now, with all these players, and is in the best place it has ever been.

“Hopefully now the crowds can keep getting behind us and enjoying it, because it is going to be an exciting sport for the next nine months.”

Littler was looking to build on his Belgian Darts Open final victory over Rob Cross, which had included a nine-dart finish, and earlier recorded an impressive 6-2 win against previous league leader Michael Van Gerwen.

Aspinall, though, produced his own top form in their semi-final clash, landing five maximums with an average of just over 104 to see off the 17-year-old sensation.

Humphries, meanwhile, hit four maximums as he had little trouble in coasting to a 6-1 win over Wright, who had earlier secured his first points of the competition.

In the night’s opening quarter-final at the Motorpoint Arena, Wright ended his barren run with his first points on the board when he edged out Gerwyn Price in a last-leg decider after the 2023 runner-up had missed three match darts.

Luke Littler hit a nine-darter as he won his first European title on his debut with an 8-7 victory over Rob Cross in a thrilling final at the Belgian Open in Wieze.

Littler’s victory over former world champion Cross included six maximums compared to his opponent’s five in a see-saw battle.

Cross averaged 108 for the match and Littler 104, but it was the 17-year-old who collected the £30,000 winner’s prize.

Luke Littler put in another Saturday night prime-time performance to advance to the third round of the Belgian Open.

While a pre-recorded appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show was being aired at home, the 17-year-old featuring alongside Liam Gallagher and Millie Bobby Brown on the popular chat show, he let his darts do the talking to beat Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 in Wieze.

Littler was frustrated by the Pole’s slow play, but he held his nerve, crucially breaking in the eighth leg with an 11-dart finish.

Victory sets up a rematch with Australian Damon Heta, who ended Littler’s hopes of winning the UK Open last week in Minehead in one of the highest quality matches in the tournament’s history.

The teenager, playing in his maiden European Tour event, says revenge is not on his mind.

“That’s what people say, revenge is a thing,” he said during his on-stage interview. “I just get on with the next game and beat what’s in front of me.”

Peter Wright has a chance to give himself a perfect birthday present after beating Michael van Gerwen.

Wright celebrates his 54th birthday on Sunday and four more wins will see him lift the title.

 

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A first ranking victory over the Dutchman since 2021 will give him confidence, even if it was not a convincing 6-4 victory.

Van Gerwen, who has been struggling with a shoulder injury, had two darts to send it to a last-leg decider but could not find his target and Wright took advantage.

Wright said: “Michael has still got a shoulder injury and I was feeling sorry for him.

“He didn’t do much practice in the back room so I thought I had a chance.

“I nearly threw it away, but I got through. Normally you have to average over a ton to beat Michael, hopefully he gets better and he starts playing the darts we know he can.”

Mike De Decker knocked out 2023 world champion Michael Smith.

Smith’s form has plummeted since winning at Alexandra Palace 15 months ago and he was outplayed by the home favourite in a 6-2 defeat.

World number one Luke Humphries also eased into Sunday’s action with a 6-1 win over James Wade.

Luke Humphries registered his first Premier League night win as the world champion defeated Michael Smith 6-3 in Brighton.

The final of the tournament’s sixth night saw world number one Humphries, a competition debutant this year, surge into a 5-1 lead.

Smith, the 2023 world champion and winner of night one in Cardiff, hit back but ‘Cool Hand Luke’ was not to be denied.

Humphries said on Sky Sports: “I felt like I haven’t played my best, since the Worlds maybe for the first six weeks, and I’ve come back playing a lot better. Sometimes it takes a bit of time.

“I think after the Worlds, the way I played, everyone expected me to win everything, and that’s not going to happen. There is so much great talent out there, so many great players, and winning nights like these is fantastic because they are really hard. I’m really proud the way I played tonight.

“My dad said ‘you look a million dollars, you look like you’re throwing like you were in the Worlds’.

“I did feel really good after the Worlds – unfortunately some things happened. My Nan passed away and that did have an affect on me. But that’s no excuse. You build again, you go again, and I think in the last couple of weeks my mind has been straight again and I feel really good.

“I felt really good at the UK Open (last weekend, when he was a beaten finalist), I just didn’t win, but tonight that’s the best I’ve played since the Worlds, and the best I’ve felt.”

Humphries, who averaged 101.04 against Smith, had advanced to it by defeating Rob Cross 6-3 with an average of 113.71. It was the same score as Smith won his semi against 17-year-old World Championship runner-up Luke Littler.

In the quarter-finals, Humphries got past Gerwyn Price 6-2 and Smith ended a three-match losing streak with a 6-5 victory over Peter Wright, who remains without a win in this year’s competition.

Defending champion Michael van Gerwen, winner of three of the first five nights, suffered a second successive quarter-final loss as he was beaten 6-2 by Cross, and night five winner Nathan Aspinall lost 6-3 to Littler.

Humphries moves up to second in the table on 12 points, three behind Van Gerwen, with Littler and Cross a further point back and Smith just outside the play-off spots on 10 points.

World number one Luke Humphries has vowed to ignore the haters after just missing out on winning more silverware.

Humphries missed match darts against Dimitri Van den Bergh in the deciding leg of the UK Open final in Minehead on Sunday to claim what would have been a fifth major ranking title out of the last six.

One of those includes winning the World Championship at the start of 2024, but despite such dominance which has seen him outperform Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Luke Littler, Humphries still has to prove people wrong.

Humphries says he is still navigating the spotlight and the attention it brings.

 “It is silly from me because I am the one that is allowing it to happen,” the 29-year-old told the PA news agency.

“You’ll always have it, if I go three months without winning I will have people on my back.

“I feel like a couple of weeks ago everyone was saying I was the worst ever world champion, I was falling off, I am rubbish and I always come back out and prove people wrong.

“I know I didn’t win. I proved again that I might not be the best player in the world, but I am one of the best.

“For me it is all about learning, I am new to having this stardom of being the world champion and world number one, but I did prove everyone wrong.

“I had a great tournament, these are really tough weeks. I will keep working hard and keep going, there’s plenty more majors to win.

“It gets to the point where you just have to accept that everyone is not going to like you or believe in you.

“If you and your family believes in you then I don’t think anyone else matters, they all do and I believe in myself.

“I don’t want to throw it all away by putting too much pressure on myself, I know there is plenty out there for me in the future.”

Dimitri Van den Bergh finally derailed the Luke Humphries juggernaut after beating him in a gripping final of the UK Open.

World number one Humphries came into the tournament at Minehead having won four of the last five major ranking tournaments, which included sealing glory at the World Championship at the start of 2024.

He was a heavy favourite to add the UK Open to his collection after a trouble-free run to the final at Butlin’s, but the Belgian won a deciding leg to claim an 11-10 victory and seal a second major title of his own.

It looked like he had blown his chance as he squandered a 7-2 lead and then missed six match darts, only to finally land his seventh after Humphries had missed chances of his own.

While Luke Littler – who was a beaten quarter-finalist at Butlin’s – has stolen the limelight since his emergence, Humphries was proving himself to be the best player around so this defeat will be a tonic to the rest of the pack.

And Van den Bergh, who excelled as youth player, will be hoping this can help kickstart his career, which showed early promise when he won the 2020 World Matchplay.

He said: “First of all, he showed again why is he the world champion. There was a moment when it was 10-8 and I was like ‘I’m one leg away, I can win this’, and I lost it. I lost my gut but all of a sudden, it turned around.

“My grandad died two years ago and this is my first major win since. This is gold and it’s for him.

“You win some, you lose some, you have got to dig deep and keep trying.”

Humphries said: “I have had a long five days on the road, I am absolutely shattered. I was very lucky to get two darts, I will obviously be gutted because I missed two darts.

“But I did my best with the way I was feeling. I give everything, I really didn’t play well. I am proud of the way I played.”

With Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price all crashing out in the early rounds, it seemed prime for another battle of the Lukes in the final, but teenager Littler was ousted in the last eight by Damon Heta.

 

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The 17-year-old has made waves in the first few months on the PDC Tour, having claimed the Bahrain Masters in his debut tournament in January and competed well in the Premier League, but leaves his first major empty handed.

He will have regrets about his defeat as, despite Heta’s incredible level, Littler rallied from 8-4 down and missed two darts at his favoured double 10 to send it to a decider.

Littler said on Instagram: “Disappointed to not make it past the quarters but was a great game. Enjoying my darts and just grateful for everything.”

Luke Littler will have to wait to win his first major title as he lost in the quarter-final of the UK Open.

The 17-year-old, who burst on to the scene with his run to the final at the World Championship over Christmas, was looking a good bet to claim the silverware in Minehead, but came up against an inspired Damon Heta.

The Australian played the match of his life, averaging 106.04, to claim a surprise 10-8 victory.

Littler has made waves in the first few months on the PDC Tour, having won the Bahrain Masters in his debut tournament in January and competing well in the Premier League, but he leaves his first major empty-handed.

He will have regrets about his defeat as despite Heta’s incredible level, Littler rallied from 8-4 down and missed two darts at his favoured double 10 to send it to a decider.

Heta said: “Credit to myself. I was up for it, sometimes I feel like that in practice so I know what it feels like.

“To come out on top against Luke Littler, who has taken the media and darts by storm, I love him to bits to be fair, it’s a massive boost for darts… but for myself I know what I am up against.

 

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“These are the guys I need to beat.”

Littler’s exit clears the path for world champion and world number one Luke Humphries.

Humphries, aiming for a fourth successive major ranking title, demolished Masters champion Stephen Bunting 10-2 in the first quarter-final.

And the 29-year-old celebrated by going back to bed before his return to stage later on Sunday.

“I am going to go and have a sleep, I felt fatigued coming on to stage, it’s been a long five days on the road,” he said.

“Usually I’d watch the draw but I am going to sleep.”

Ricky Evans said he was on “cloud 10” after reaching his first major semi-final by beating Rob Cross.

Cross missed a plethora of chances, including 28 darts at a double, to allow Evans to steal a 10-7 win.

“He gave me so many chances and I took them,” a tearful Evans said. “I won and I just looked at the stats and I don’t care.

“I’m on cloud 10, it’s better than nine. I am chuffed to bits and on my sister’s birthday, it’s a present for her.”

Luke Littler proved he is a normal teenager after all by admitting he is not a morning person.

The 17-year-old advanced into the quarter-finals of the UK Open after he followed up his nervy afternoon win over Martin Schindler with a resounding victory over world number nine Dave Chisnall in the last 16.

Littler has appeared superhuman with his exploits since bursting onto the scene at the World Championship over Christmas, but early mornings appear to be his kryptonite.

He had to skip breakfast in order to prepare for his 2pm start against the German and edged over the line but he was in his natural habitat when he dispatched Chisnall handsomely in the evening session.

“I think if everyone didn’t know, they are going to know now that I am not a morning person,” he said.

“I did struggle this morning but I managed to get over the line against Martin.

“After that game, I chilled out, had some food, and I think played better in the evening, every player thinks they play better in the evening.

“I chilled myself out, went on my phone, went out for some food. This morning I didn’t have breakfast and I was feeling sick because there was nothing in my stomach and my adrenalin was going.

“That first game was really hard to get over the line.”

Littler will have another afternoon outing on Sunday in his last-eight tie before a possible semi-final and final tie in the evening session.

That puts him three wins away from a maiden major title and he says claiming glory at Minehead Butlin’s would be a new high.

“It would be unbelievable, I have not even thought about it, I will just take it game by game,” he said.

“That’s what every player has to do, play the game and if you are lucky enough to win you will go on to the next one.”

 

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Littler could be on course for a rematch of the World Championship final against Luke Humphries as the world champion also advanced to the last eight.

Humphries is trying to claim a fourth successive major televised title following wins at the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship and World Championship and looks a good bet.

He posted routine wins against Benjamin Reus and Mervyn King and is eyeing a date with Littler.

“Me and probably Luke Littler have been the most consistent players in the tournament so far so if we draw each other it will be a fantastic game,” Humphries said.

“If it’s in the final, if I get that far, then even better.

“It would be great for the fans to watch and we have been the most consistent in the tournament.”

There were more big-name casualties on Saturday as Michael Smith and Gary Anderson followed Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price in suffering early exits.

Luke Littler says his love of the game is the reason behind his incredible rise as his progress in the UK Open continued.

Littler burst onto the scene at Christmas with a debut run to the final of the World Championship and has become a star name since.

He remains on course to win his first major tournament as he moved through to the fifth round in Minehead with a 10-8 win over Martin Schindler.

Still only 17, darts remains just a game for Littler, who averaged 101.86 and battled back from 5-3 down against the German.

He said: “It’s what every darts player has got to do, if you are not enjoying it then surely you can’t play well.

“I always enjoy it, I love leading up to any competition. He played really well and hopefully I played as well, it felt like that. It was a very tough game to get over the line.”

With Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price exiting on Friday night, the draw opened up even further for him when Michael Smith crashed out in the fifth round.

The former world champion was beaten 10-9 by Luke Woodhouse, who said: “Michael Smith is a Premier League player, he is one of the top players in the world so to win that I am chuffed.

“I tried my best to stick with him, I thought if I could take it to the wire then who knows and luckily I could do it.”

There are still some big names joining Littler in Saturday night’s last 16 with Gary Anderson and Rob Cross among those progressing.

Luke Littler says seeing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp talk about him was just another day in his crazy life.

Klopp compared his young band of players, who helped win the Carabao Cup last week and then earn a quarter-final spot in the FA Cup, to the 17-year-old, who the German described as the “new darts sensation”.

Littler, who advanced to the last 32 of the UK Open on Friday night, burst onto the scene at the World Championship over Christmas.

 

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His historic run to the final saw him transcend the sport and become a global star, so seeing Klopp reference him was nothing out of the ordinary.

Littler, a staunch Manchester United fan, said: “I actually watched the final and the young lads are doing well, but if he wants to compares them to me then he can.

“I actually woke up and someone told me that he compared me to his young lads, so I went online and watched the video.

“I gave it a like and went on to the next video. That was literally another day in my life.”

Littler is gunning for his first major title since joining the main PDC Tour at the start of the year and he looked the part in his opening match at Butlin’s in Minehead.

He averaged over 100 and produced four 100-plus finishes, including a ‘Big Fish’, as he beat James Wade 10-7.

With Michael van Gerwen surprisingly crashing out, Littler is now the favourite to win.

“I have not even thought about it, but I know if my game is there every match then I don’t see why I can’t win it,” he said.

“I don’t mind who I play. It is what I dreamed of, playing in front of thousands every week, I just take it in my stride.”

Three-time champion Van Gerwen was below par as he was dumped out at the first hurdle by Mensur Suljovic.

The Austrian has been in the darting doldrums in recent years, but posted a standout win, outplaying Van Gerwen, who appeared to be nursing an elbow injury.

Suljovic said: “I beat Michael van Gerwen, the best player in the world. I am feeling good, I am practising every day, I am a different person.

“I had a big problem with my family, I came back and practice every day, and hope I can do well in the tournament.”

Andrew Gilding began the defence of his 2023 title with a 10-7 win over Josh Payne and intends to celebrate by eating a Pot Noodle.

‘Goldfinger’ was a surprise winner last year when he beat Van Gerwen in a thrilling final and finished so late he had nothing to eat except the instant snack.

“When I won it last year there were no takeaways open so I had to eat a Pot Noodle to celebrate,” he said. “So I actually brought a couple of Pot Noodles and I’ll eat one tonight out of tradition.

“I have got a chicken and mushroom or beef and tomato. Maybe I’ll have beef and tomato with a little bit of extra ketchup, I bring my own.”

Former world champion Michael Smith said he was unable to celebrate his 10-7 win over Josh Cullen in the same way because he had already eaten one for lunch.

“I had a Pot Noodle for lunch before I came here so that’s out of the window,” he said. “I have a standing order, I get some sent every month.”

Gerwyn Price was beaten 10-9 by Martin Schindler, but there were wins for world number one Luke Humphries, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall.

Nathan Aspinall earned his first Premier League darts victory of the season after beating Rob Cross 6-2 on night five in Exeter.

The Asp reached back-to-back finals with wins against Peter Wright and Luke Humphries before beating Voltage to move into fourth in the table.

His victory ended Michael van Gerwen’s run of three successive Premier League darts victories, with Humphries knocking the Dutchman out in their quarter-final clash.

Aspinall was beaten 6-4 in last week’s final in Newcastle and admits he has had a slow start to this year’s campaign.

He told Sky Sports: “It was a slow start to the season, last week was massive for myself and I made the decision tonight to forget about double 16 because I’ve missed it so many times and I went for tops.

“I’m very happy, the last two weeks I’ve really dug deep. Everyone knows I’m a fighter and I’ve been down the first three weeks, but a final and then a win the last two weeks, I’m over the moon.”

Aspinall took the early advantage in the final, winning the first three legs and after a series of missed attempts on the outer ring, he eventually hit double four to take the fourth leg.

Cross struggled on the doubles and missed a double eight, allowing Aspinall to snatch the fifth leg with a 160 checkout.

Voltage pulled two legs back to give his opponent a scare, but missed double 10 in the eighth leg before the Asp swooped in, hitting double 20 to secure the win.

“I like proving people wrong, that was my plan, didn’t start off like that. I’ve been down in the dumps but I think I’ve shown my fighting spirit the last two weeks,” Aspinall added.

“Granted, I’ve not performed at the level that I know I’m capable of but by God do I dig and I’ve dug deep tonight, last week was the same. That win against Michael Smith last week first game, scrappy game but that’s kickstarted my season.”

It was a disappointing evening for Cross, who stormed into the semi-finals with a dominant 6-1 victory over Gerwyn Price, throwing a 109.69 average during that game.

Voltage then met Luke Littler in the final four following Littler’s victory over Michael Smith in the quarter-finals.

He took a 2-0 lead before Littler found momentum and the game was tied at 3-3, but after missing six match darts Cross eventually reached the final hitting double two.

Michael van Gerwen is seeking further glory after earning his third successive Premier League Darts victory with a 6-4 win over Nathan Aspinall.

The Dutchman beat Gerwyn Price and teenager Luke Littler to secure a spot in the final, where the seven-time Premier League champion came from behind to beat Aspinall.

Aspinall started brightly, winning two successive legs but was left to rue missed doubles which had troubled him throughout the evening as Van Gerwen hit a 10-dart break on his way to leading 5-2.

Although Van Gerwen needed one leg to win, Aspinall clawed his way back and nearly took him to a decider in the 10th leg, but missed double 16.

The Dutchman made no mistake finding double 18 to wrap up victory and hopes to put himself in a comfortable position in the upcoming weeks.

He told a post-match press conference: “I think it was really big of course to win another Premier League night it’s match three, it’s hard.

“I think I had a tough draw tonight this night, to win the first game against Gezzy then Luke Littler then of course Nathan Aspinall in the final, it wasn’t easy, but of course you still have to do it. Then to make it actually happen is always a great feeling.

“Of course you want to make yourself as comfortable as possible but I think with this win I can look forward next week but that’s what I want to do.

“I want to make sure I put myself in a comfortable position, make sure I do the damage again and make sure I get more points, that’s the only thing I can do.”

After beating Price in the quarter-finals, Van Gerwen edged to the final with a 6-5 victory against Littler in the final four.

The teenager beat Peter Wright 6-5 in the quarter-finals in a close encounter that went the distance to set up a final-four clash against the world number two, where Littler piled on the pressure.

Van Gerwen missed six match darts allowing “the Nuke” to take it to a decider, but the Dutchman kept his composure in the final leg, hitting a 90 finish to win.

He now leads the standings by eight points and believes he has a different mindset in his approach this year.

“When you play the best players you have to play the best game, you have to perform and have to win,” he added.

“Of course over so many weeks you’re going to have bad days, you’re going to have good days, but overall you need to make sure you keep your momentum going and that’s what I’m doing at the moment.

“I think I have a different mindset now, I’m going to look week-by-week, don’t put myself in the same position last year.

“Last year was another week, I wasn’t really there mentally and I’ve changed that this year.”

Thursday was Aspinall’s first Premier League final of the season following victory over Rob Cross in the semi-finals.

After narrowly beating Michael Smith 6-5 in the quarter-finals, the Asp faced a tough test against Cross, where missed doubles allowed “Voltage” to get his foot back into the game.

His struggles on the outer ring saw him miss three match darts before Cross missed double 16 and Aspinall made no mistake to wrap the game up with the following dart.

Luke Littler has dismissed as “crazy” predictions that he could be bigger than Phil Taylor.

The teenager has not only taken the darts world by storm but become a household name since his stunning run to the final of the World Championship as a 16-year-old in January.

Such has been his impact that Michael Smith, the current world number three, recently claimed Littler could go on to achieve even greater things than record 16-time world champion Taylor.

Littler, who turned 17 shortly after his headline-grabbing heroics at Alexandra Palace, told the PA news agency: “I don’t think anyone’s beating that record! It’s just crazy, crazy to think of me being bigger than Phil.

“I’ve said to many people I’ve not really set any goals. I just get on with it. I just have to throw my darts and see where they go.

“I’m still gobsmacked that I’m here, getting all these opportunities. I’m just taking it in my stride as I do.”

Littler has proved his World Championship performance was no flash in the pan, throwing nine-dart finishes on the way to tournament victories at the Bahrain Masters and Players Championship in Wigan.

He also now has a PDC tour card, a place in the Premier League and has risen to 30th in the world rankings.

The Warrington-based youngster has coped impressively with his whirlwind introduction to the sport at the elite level and is relishing competing against the best.

“I just love playing in front of a crowd,” said Littler, who signed a new multi-year partnership with Target Darts on Wednesday.

“I enjoy trying my best to put on a performance and I know I can play against the best. I’ve broken into the top 32, so hopefully I’m here for many years to come.”

Littler’s agreement with Target coincides with the launch of a new range of “The Nuke” products by the company, including darts sets designed, at affordable prices, for players new to the game.

Littler recognises the effect he has had on darts at grassroots level and hopes he can continue to encourage new people to take up the sport.

He said: “It’s just been crazy how many people have got into darts, and how many people have been in my local shop in St Helens. There’s been queues outside.

“I’m just glad to be a part of it all. Hopefully it gets more people involved.”

:: Luke Littler’s new “The Nuke” range, including his 2024 World Darts Championship Playing Shirt, is available to buy now at www.targetdarts.co.uk

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