Gary Anderson has warned against putting excessive pressure on 16-year-old Luke Littler ahead of his clash against Raymond van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship.

Littler, the world youth champion, is the youngest player to reach the last 16 and was born 21 days after Van Barneveld won the most recent of his five world titles in 2007.

The pair will face off at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, and two-time world champion Anderson is worried about the amount of attention being put on Littler at such a young age.

“If it goes tits up with Luke give yourselves a pat on the back,” Anderson told reporters. “Let the boy play darts. I’ve been downstairs and he’s got cameras, zoom calls, meetings…Let the boy play darts.

“He’s had a great tournament, he’s done well. What if it all goes Pete Tong now? You boys have ruined that. Let the boy play darts, He’s 16 years old.

“Keep having that boy mic’ed up, doing interviews when he should be on the practice board. You’ve seen it a thousand times. Every year there’s a boy come through.

“You’ve not got a clue how many young darts players coming through the system who are the next big thing and then there’s the pressure on it and it all goes Pete Tong. We’ve seen it in the past.”

Van Barneveld set up the meeting with Littler with a 4-1 win over Jim Williams.

“I will love to play Luke Littler,” he said. “When I was 16 I was playing with Lego and Playmobile, we didn’t have the internet or whatever.

“This guy is amazing, and I am looking forward so much to that game. He is a quality player and I can’t wait to meet him tomorrow night.”

Luke Littler and Raymond van Barneveld will clash in the last 16 of the World Darts Championship on Saturday.

Forty years separate 16-year-old Littler, the youngest player to reach this stage of the tournament, and the 56-year-old five-time world champion.

Here the PA news agency underlines the vast differences between the duo as they go head to head for a place in the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.

Experience

Van Barneveld won his fifth and most recent world title in on New Year’s Day in 2007, 21 days before Littler was born.

The Dutchman has also won a number of major ranking crowns in both the PDC and BDO organisations.

Littler won his first senior event at the 2021 Irish Open at the age of 14.

He won the World Youth Championship in Minehead last month, averaging 102.16 in the final, to qualify for Ally Pally.

Skill

As of Friday afternoon, Littler was one of only 10 players to average over 100 in a single match in this year’s tournament so far. His statistics of 106.12 in his first round win over Christian Kist ranking second only behind Stephen Bunting’s 107.28 against Ryan Joyce.

Littler also averaged over 90 in his subsequent victories over Andrew Gilding and Matt Campbell, and has lost just two sets in the tournament so far.

Van Barneveld averaged almost 100 in his first win over Radek Szaganski, but less than 90 in his win over Jim Williams.

Fuel

Littler’s penchant for kebabs has provided plenty of food for thought with one London takeaway promising him free meals for life if he wins the world title, while an establishment in his hometown of Warrington is advertising Littler’s ‘favourite kebab’ on its menu.

Van Barneveld is less likely to opt for the takeaway option. His 2022 campaign almost came unstuck after a bout of food poisoning brought on by a dodgy Chinese.

Instead, the Dutchman said he expected to celebrate Christmas with a “gourmet dinner” after his opening win.

What they say

There is no disguising the age discrepancy between the pair as they prepare for one of the most eagerly awaited darts clashes of recent times.

“It would be unbelievable to play Raymond,” said Littler. “I used to imitate him all the time – stood in my nappy, celebrating like Barney.”

Van Barneveld responded: “The guy is amazing. When I was 16 I was playing with Lego and Playmobile, we didn’t have the internet or whatever.”

Teenage sensation Luke Littler’s incredible rise continues after he became the youngest player to reach the fourth round of the World Championship.

The 16-year-old has taken the Alexandra Palace tournament by storm and wowed an adoring crowd with a sensational performance to destroy Matt Campbell 4-1.

Littler, who won the World Youth Championship in November, will pocket a guaranteed £35,000 but will have his sights on lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy in what would be one of the greatest ever sporting stories.

It is going to take something special to stop him as he is producing form which defies his tender age.

He averaged 97.19, threw eight 180s and produced three 100-plus checkouts, including a majestic 164 in the fifth set.

A dream last-16 tie with his hero Raymond van Barneveld could be waiting for him on Saturday, if the Dutchman can beat Jim Williams on Friday night.

After disposing of Christian Kist and UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, the teenager returned home for Christmas where he sacrificed time on his Xbox after dinner for a practice session on the board.

And that paid dividends as he made an electric start, winning the first six legs to roar into a 2-0 lead.

Campbell, who returned home to Canada over the festive period before arriving back in the UK on Boxing Day, looked to have a foothold in the third set as he took the first two legs, but a relentless Littler reeled off the next three to move 3-0 up.

He had a match dart to seal a 4-0 whitewash but suffered a rare bout of inaccuracy, which allowed Campbell to get on the board.

Littler hit back in the fifth set, though, hitting two 100-plus checkouts on his way to sealing a famous win.

Speaking on stage after the match, Littler said: “It’s unbelievable. I only wanted to win one game and I have won three and I have battled through it. I am so happy.

“I just let my darts do the talking, everyone on social media saying, ‘He’s this age’, but I let my darts do the talking.

“As soon as I won that first game I have just settled.”

Raymond van Barneveld rolled back the years to reach the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship with a 3-1 victory over Radek Szaganski.

The 56-year-old Dutchman – a five-time world champion – booked his post-Christmas place at Alexandra Palace and may fancy his chances of going further in the tournament with Peter Wright and James Wade eliminated from his section of the draw.

Van Barneveld next plays Welshman Jim Williams, the conqueror of two-time world champion Wright, and could meet teenage sensation Luke Littler in the last 16.

“Of course I look at it (the draw) but it gives you more pressure, right?” Van Barneveld told Sky Sports after averaging 99.81 and resisting a strong Szaganski recovery after the Pole had lost the opening two sets.

“Peter Wright has gone, James Wade has gone, but, hey, there’s a little guy named Luke Littler. Come on, he’s fantastic.

“I had a bad start. When I was practising backstage I never missed a treble. I’m thinking ‘all right’, but my finishing was really good and I’m really happy with this game.

“But it’s still not my A game and I can do a lot better.”

Chris Dobey, the current Masters champion, beat William O’Connor 3-2 in a match of high scoring and high quality.

The pair produced 17 180s – 10 for Dobey and seven for O’Connor – as the game swung one way and then the other into a final set.

Dobey, who this week celebrated the birth of his son Chester, held his nerve to win the decider 3-1 and finished with a match average of 103.09, his best at Alexandra Palace.

Florian Hempel ended Dimitri van den Bergh’s tournament hopes for the second time in three years.

Van den Bergh, the number 15 seed and World Championship semi-finalist 12 months ago, raced into a two-set lead after losing the first two legs of the match.

But Hempel stormed back to win 3-2 and will play Stephen Bunting or Ryan Joyce in round three.

Hempel’s fellow German Martin Schindler overcame Jermaine Wattimena 3-1.

Schindler dominated most of the match but Wattimena had the consolation of a 170 checkout in the third set.