Phil Taylor willing to play Luke Littler but only under one condition

Darts icon and 16-time world champion Phil Taylor doesn't sound overly keen on facing Luke Littler, but he would play the teenager under one condition.

Littler’s rapid rise in the sport continued on Thursday night when he was crowned Premier League champion in his debut campaign.

The 17-year-old became only the 2nd player in history, Taylor being the other, to hit a nine-dart finish in the final as he walked away with the £275,000 prize pot with a win against Luke Humphries.

He also became the second player to reach the final of the World Championship and the Premier League in their debut season, again ‘The Power’ being the other.

It has been a whirlwind couple of months for the teenager and naturally, his emergence has got everybody talking – including arguably the greatest of all time, Taylor.

Speaking to talkSPORT about Littler's rise, 'The Power' was full of praise for the Runcorn-born thrower – and even credited Littler for getting him back into watching events on TV.

"I think he is absolutely fantastic, I have got to be honest with you, and I know he's got the backs up of the other pros which I love to see," Taylor said.

"I wasn't really watching darts, I wasn't really interested in it and he's made me interested in watching it again.

"I even watched some of the streaming yesterday [Players Championship 2 on Tuesday] so that's not me! But I've really enjoyed watching him.

"He's a great little player, he's got a great little personality and it hasn't affected him yet. I don't think it ever will. I think he will keep his feet on the ground no matter how many tournaments he achieves."

When asked if he would like to face him in a match, Taylor said: "No [I don't want to play him]. Not yet, I don't want to play him to be quite honest with you!"

Image: Getty

Taylor, who won 214 professional titles and was runner-up in 48 finals during a trophy-laden career, was then prodded on whether he would face Littler in an exhibition match.

The 63-year-old replied: "I'd play him in an exhibition, yeah. One leg of 301, I go first!"

Now that's a leg of darts we would like to see at some point in the future.