Boy wonder Luke Littler was just four years old when Christian Kist won his Lakeside world title – but tonight they meet as equal partners.
And as 'Luke the Nuke' primed his tungsten warheads for battle against the Dutchman at the Paddy Power PDC Darts World Championship, he admitted: “If I do well, I know it could change my life.”
Littler, 16, is already guaranteed a minimum £7,500 pocket money for reaching the main draw at Alexandra Palace, where he retained his Junior Darts Corporation world title at the weekend. But he wants more for Christmas than just a Kist under the mistletoe – and the Runcorn teenager has been inspired by the backing of darts royalty Phil 'The Power' Taylor.
READ MORE: Phil Taylor tips 16-year-old darts sensation to be one of the 'best players ever'
READ MORE: Darts fan in dress knocks pint out of own hand on to head of supporter dressed as Toad
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Littler said: “Phil was my hero growing up – I met him at a Target Darts launch earlier this year and he said he had been following me and he would be watching me at the world championship. To think that the great Phil Taylor will be watching me on TV is crazy. I followed him from the first day I picked up a dart and now he is sat back and retired, hopefully he can watch me play well.
“When I started playing on a small dartboard, my first set of proper darts were from Phil Taylor's range. To know he'll be watching me is massive.”
How far do you think Luke could go in the competition? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Littler's father, Anthony, is a taxi driver and his mum, Lisa, works for a scented candles chain. Aroma wasn't built in a day, but at 16 he can almost smell the big money. It's too soon to think in terms of him scooping the £500,000 winner's cheque, but he laughed: “What would I do with half a million? No idea – I'll still be happy with £7,500 if I get beaten in the first round.
“I don't remember Christian winning the BDO title in 2012 (six days before Littler's fifth birthday) and, to be honest, I didn't even know he had won it. But I know what he is capable of and I'm looking forward to the atmosphere. Hopefully the crowd are on my side.”
Littler admits his education has taken a back seat to darts, and after winning a PDC Tour card he won't be rushing back to the classroom. He revealed: “Yeah, the school have always been supportive, and while I was earning a bit of money, I wasn’t really bothered about school.
“When I went to the UK Open I think my dad just told them straight up, 'He’s down in Minehead. He is playing in his first PDC major.' They just said, 'Yeah, OK.'
“Now I have won my Tour card, this is it. There is not really anything to fall back on. If it does goes wrong the next two years, I will have to look for something. When I get on the Tour, there will be even bigger money to be earned, and if I do win a few games at the Worlds, it will really change me. My life could change at Christmas, it could change in January.”
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