The best comeback ever? Highlights of Quarterfinals 1 and 2 - 2023/24 World Darts Championship Paddy Power

Luke Littler is still dominating the PDC World Championship after defeating previous winners Raymond van Barneveld handily in the round of 16.

Luke Littler, 16, may be about to become a member of an exclusive group of sports legends, but he doesn’t appear to know anything about most of them.

The youngster, who blazed through to the quarterfinals at Ally Pally, has been the PDC World Championships’ undisputed star. And he’ll be back on the oche on New Year’s Day as the crowd’s and bookies’ favourite to defeat Brendan Dolan and advance to the last four.

Should ‘The Nuke’ successfully complete the tournament and win the title on January 3, he would undoubtedly become the youngest victor in tournament history. Michael van Gerwen, who was 24 at the time of his victory in 2014—roughly eight years older—owns that mantle at the moment.

Littler would then be among the elite of youngsters who have seen success in international sports. Legendary Brazilian football player Pele was just 17 years old the first time he assisted his nation in winning the World Cup, while Boris Becker was just a year older when he won his first Wimbledon title.

Emma Raducanu, a different tennis player, started her own legendary journey to win the US Open in New York when she was just eighteen years old.Mike Tyson, on the other hand, became the youngest world heavyweight champion in professional boxing history at the age of 20.

After defeating Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 on Saturday, Littler acknowledged in his post-match news conference that he was not aware of the bulk of the famous names that were suggested to him. “The names you just mentioned are unbelievable,” he retorted.

Although Littler’s exposure to Pele was facilitated by computer games, it appears that tennis is not one of his pastimes: “I know Mike, I only know Pele from FIFA and I don’t know the other ones.” I know I can break even more records if my game is on point, even if I have already broken many rules and records.”

In his journey to the last eight, Littler has only dropped three sets, and the World Youth Champion has seldom displayed nervousness in the final moments of games. Furthermore, he seems to possess the confidence needed to pull off the unimaginable.

“My game is there; to win it is the dream of every darting child, man, and anybody else,” he continued. “I definitely have the advantage; it all depends on what transpires that day and whether Luke Littler shows up.”