30 December 2023 , 23:00
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Teenage sensation Luke Littler will avoid tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen until the final after reaching the last eight of the World Darts Championship.
Littler, 16, has enjoyed a dream run at Alexandra Palace after bursting onto the scene and thrashed the legendary Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday night to book his spot in the quarter-finals.
The 4-1 triumph, which will net Littler a minimum of £50,000 in prize money, means the youngster joins a host of darts biggest names in the final stages of the tournament.
And his chances of winning the entire thing have been boosted given the remaining names on his side of the draw.
With both Luke Humphries and Van Gerwen both on the opposite side of the draw, Littler will avoid them until the final, should he and either one of them make it. Instead, Littler will face World No.28 Brendan Dolan in the quarter-finals after the Northern Irishman stunned Gary Anderson shortly before the teenager's big win.
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If Littler can overcome Dolan, he would then face either former world champion Rob Cross or Chris Dobey in the semi-finals for a chance to make history in the big final on January 3.
Littler revealed after his big win against Van Barneveld that the Dutch icon had told him he was capable of going all the way and winning the tournament.
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Little thrashed Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday night (PA)He told Sky Sports of his post-match exchange with the multi-time world champion: "He said at the end, you can go all the way. I said thank you. He is a true gentleman."
When Littler was then asked if he could see himself becoming world champion himself, he replied: "No! I just looked at the draw, I've got Brendan Dolan next. I do fancy myself, but we have Brendan next."
Littler had already beaten Christian Kist, UK Open champion Andrew Gilding and Matt Campbell prior to claiming Van Barneveld's scalp and has already pocketed a huge sum for his dream run.
The youngster, who has celebrated each victory with a kebab, was tipped to go all the way by former world champion John Part after his win. He said: "He [Littler] really is a great player. I have to put aside that he is 16, that was a performance from any player where you say he can win the tournament if you play like that. He won easily, it was a great performance. Those are darts that win titles."