Luke Littler has made an interesting remark ahead of his PDC World Darts Championship semi-final against fan favourite Stephen Bunting.
Littler, 17, and Bunting, 39, will go head-to-head at Alexandra Palace, London, in Thursday’s semi-final, with the winner set to face either Michael van Gerwen or Chris Dobey in Friday’s final.
The winner of the competition is set to pocket a tidy £500,000, while the runner-up will earn a prize of £200,000, according to the Independent.
The teenage darts sensation is a heavy favourite heading into the match, with Oddschecker pricing him at 2/9 while Bunting returns odds of 17/4 as the outsider.
Littler came through his quarter-final clash with Nathan Aspinall with a relatively convincing 5-2 victory to reach his second World Championship semi-final in just two years.
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Of course, last year, Littler rose to prominence by getting to the final before eventually losing to Luke Humphries, who was dumped out in round four by Peter Wright this time around.
As for Littler, he will no doubt lean on the experience he gained from last year’s competition when the eyes of the darts world are on ‘Ally Pally’ later this evening.
The 17-year-old has seemingly grown in confidence as the tournament has progressed. Littler explained how “that’s the best I’ve felt” following his quarter-final win against Aspinall, 33.
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However, he also claimed that sometimes winning “dirty” gives him an “even better feeling" than a routine victory would.
"It feels amazing, the perfect start to 2025, and it’s sinking in now: two tournaments, two semi-finals, and a step closer,” said Littler.
“The only thing in my head now is making that second final.
"From start to finish, that’s the best I’ve felt at this tournament - and hopefully, I’ll get the same feeling tomorrow night. There were no nerves tonight - I just enjoyed myself, as I should be doing."
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The teenager then referenced his 3-1 victory over Ryan Meike in the second round of the competition. On that occasion, he made a slow start but eventually came through a tough test against Meike, 28.
"Everyone saw how I had to dig deep in my first game against Ryan (Meikle), and sometimes if you have to win dirty, it’s an even better feeling,” he added.
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler
Luke Davies