Luke Littler said he can sense the “tension” among his rivals in the face of his growing success as he continues his quest for a first World Darts title.
Littler emerged as one of the faces of the sport through a meteoric rise that saw him runner-up on debut at Ally Pally before winning the Premier League, the World Series of Darts Final and the Grand Slam of Darts.
He also recently finished runner-up for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson, such was his impact on the prominence of darts in 2024.
Is the darts world jealous of the 17-year-old?
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John Part says Littler is not unbeatable at this year's World Darts Championship despite his natural talent and display of courage to win a deciding set against Joyce
“I don't know. I'd probably say some players show it, mostly on the pro tour,” Littler said.
“But I saw Scott Williams' interview – he's getting sponsorship opportunities, people are looking for him because of me. So it's good to see what I've done, especially for the players and any sponsors I can get.”
Littler survived Monday night's episode to beat Ryan Joyce 4-3 to punch his ticket to the quarter-finals as he looks to improve on last year's loss to Luke Humphries in the final.
He is now the highest seeded player remaining in a competition he arrived with heightened expectations as one of the favorites to become champion. By now he can afford to smile if he ever hears any offhand remarks.
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Littler will face Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals after beating Joyce 4-3
“It's definitely not on my face,” Littler added. “Not as soon as I walk in, but whenever I practice, I can just feel that tension. And I just laugh about it.”
Littler faces Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals, who beat Ricardo Pietreczko 4-0 with an average of 94.28 after winning 10 straight games.
“It's going to be tough,” Littler said. “But I've beaten most of them. Nathan has only one win over me. It's good to beat Nathan. But it's the eighth last in the World Championship and anyone can win that day.”
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Aspinall said he had been shown no 'disrespect' and had to continue to prove himself
Littler admitted he was unlikely to speak with Aspinall during construction, underscoring the importance of putting the friendship aside.
“Probably not. We'll just keep to ourselves,” he said. “Obviously he's going to celebrate New Year's with his family and his two little girls, and I'm obviously going to celebrate with my mom and dad.
“You just have to go into every game to do that if you're playing with your best friend or someone you really don't like. You just have to beat what's in front of you.”
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