28 December 2023 , 22:24
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Luke Littler has had a surprise meeting with Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale as the 16-year-old's rise to stardom continues.
Littler has been a sensation on his PDC World Championship debut, becoming the youngest player to reach the Last 16 in the tournament's history. He comfortably beat Matt Campbell on Thursday to reach the next stage, dropping just six legs in the entire match.
'The Nuke' has become a superstar thanks to his surprise run at Ally Pally over Christmas. It appears he has picked up two new fans from Premier League title-challenging Arsenal, as he prepares to find out who he will face next at the world championship.
The darts wonderkid posted a photo on Instagram on Thursday of himself posing with Gunners stars Rice and Ramsdale. The caption read: "Just about to go to the room and the security says these 2 want a picture crazyyy!!"
From Littler's comment, it appears that the darts star was staying in the same hotel as the Arsenal players. The duo were part of the squad which played West Ham on Thursday at the Emirates Stadium.
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Ramsdale, who was named on the bench for the game against the Hammers, added his own picture to Instagram. As a caption he wrote: "Met the most famous 16-year-old in the world at the minute! Absolutely flying the boy @lukethenukelittler."
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Luke Littler met Aaron Ramsdale and Declan Rice on ThursdayThe Arsenal duo were not the only footballers to meet Littler this week though. Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek, who is on his way to Eintracht Frankfurt, was also pictured alongside the wonderkid.
Littler will play either boyhood hero Raymond van Barneveld or Jim Williams in the Last 16. But the youngster will attempt to keep his feet on the ground ahead of his next appearance on the oche.
"Playing Raymond would be unbelievable. Win or lose, I’ll still be happy with making the last 16. I started crying when I saw my mum in the crowd. She was nervous. I saw her with her head in her hands," he said.
"I said to her: ‘The dream continues.’ She said the same thing. I only wanted to win one game and I've won three. I've battled through it and I'm so happy. I just let my darts do the talking. As soon as I won that first game against Christian Kist I just settled.
"As soon as I went 2-0 up against Matt I tried to calm myself down because last time it didn't go too well. I kept composed and got over the line. I've always had it. You saw against Andrew Gilding I let loads of energy out when I went 2-0 up.
"Then he came back and won the set 3-0. It's more about just composing yourself. When you do win, then you can celebrate. I'll just stay in the hotel and chill out tomorrow, probably treat myself to some more shoes or pants! Then see who I play in the next round."