I’M DARING TO DREAM!
But can 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler really go all the way?
Of all Sid Waddell’s legendary lines, there is one in particular which could lend itself to Luke Littler’s bid to become the World Darts Championship’s youngestever winner.
It is not the one about the atmosphere being so tense — ‘If Elvis walked in with a portion of chips, you could hear the vinegar sizzle on them’ — because silence has not accompanied ‘The Nuke’ at Alexandra Palace.
Nor is it the line about the English teenager having ‘more checkouts than Tescos’, as accurate as that might be.
It is the one about someone so young showing such dominance at a tender age. ‘When Alexander of Macedon was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer — Eric Bristow is only 27,’ went the quip from the witty ‘Voice of Darts’.
As we all know, Littler is merely 16 years old, yet this wonderkid from Warrington is now only three victories away from lifting the trophy named after the late Waddell.
There have been no ‘salt tears’ from Littler. Not even after his 4-1 humbling of Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday to set up today’s quarter- final with Brendan Dolan, the 50-year- old Northern Irishman nicknamed ‘The History Maker’.
The suspicion is Littler is saving them for when he is crowned world champion, a possibility which has been looking likelier with every performance on the Ally Pally stage as he continues to draw comparisons to Boris Becker and Emma Raducanu, who won Wimbledon and the US Open at 17 and 18 respectively.
If Littler can go all the way, you would hope his career goes more Becker than Raducanu, who is still struggling to live up to expectations.
Whatever happens today, it is the way in which Littler is taking his newfound fame in his stride that has been most striking.
Yesterday, he was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a guest of Spurs midfielder James Maddison, someone who has been no stranger to the VIP area at Ally Pally.
Littler defeated Van Barneveld with an average of 105. He took his 180 total to 29, which is the most maximums thrown by anyone at this tournament. His finishing is at 43 per cent and he needed only a single dart to nail double 15 to sink his Dutch idol.
‘I think I’m daring to dream,’ Littler said afterwards. ‘It gives me goosebumps. I’ve won three world youth titles. This is the biggest one of them all and I’m only three wins away now.’
The side of the draw on which
Littler finds himself is inviting, with title contenders such as Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson having all been eliminated.
Dolan is beatable in the quarters — tournament sponsors Paddy Power make Littler the heavy favourite at 1/6 on — and Chris Dobey or Rob Cross would then await in the semi-finals. A date with Dobey would be the dream for ZXf Sports Management, who boast both players on their books.
Littler played crazy golf in London on friday with Dobey, the 33-year-old Englishman who currently carries the highest overall average of the tournament at 103. Michael van Gerwen was the youngest winner of this PDC event at 24 in 2014 and ‘Mighty Mike’ remains the bookies’ favourite to be crowned world champion.
The 34-year- old Dutchman is not used to being overshadowed, and joked this week of the teenager stealing his thunder: ‘He’s a fantastic player but he has won f***-all at the men’s (level) yet.
‘If you look talent-wise, I think I was slightly better at the same age. But he doesn’t care whoever he plays and that’s what I admire of him.
‘He’ll win lots of tournaments in the future, 100 per cent.’
That fearlessness is why Littler is where he is today: the favourite to win this showdown with Dolan at Ally Pally.
The peerless Waddell would have had a few pearlers primed for the occasion.
He might even have been tempted to reuse one of his simpler yet still sublime lines: ‘I cannot believe my Geordie eyes.’
WATCHING BRIEF... BRENDAN DOLAN v LUKE LITTLER
Approx 2pm, Alexandra Palace. TV: LIVE on Sky Sports Arena.