Luke Littler has revealed how far he thought he would get in this year's World Darts Championship as he prepares to take on Luke Humphries in the final.
The 16-year-old, who qualified the tournament by virtue of his performances on the Development Tour, has beaten six players on his way to the final at Alexandra Palace.
His early victims included former Lakeside champion Christian Kist and defending UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
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He then dumped out Matt Campbell, who had produced a surprise in beating James Wade, in round three, with the fourth round seeing him take on five-time champion Raymond van Barneveld.
But despite being at a high level, 'Barney' couldn't cope with Littler's high scoring and precise doubling, with the 16-year-old running out as a 4-1 winner.
Another 100 plus average saw him defeat Brendan Dolan 5-1 in the quarter-finals, before a commanding 6-2 win over Rob Cross on Tuesday saw him reach the showpiece event.
He is preparing to face 'Cool Hand Luke' Humphries, who dispatched of Scott Williams 6-0 in his semi-final while averaging over 110.
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And after his victory over Cross, Littler revealed how many games he realistically expected himself to win this year at Alexandra Palace.
He told Sky Sports: "It's crazy to even think about a World Championship final.
"On my debut, I was happy winning one game but now I could go all the way.
"That was it [the objective to win one game]. I heard rumours that Christian was struggling with an injury, but I just blocked that out and had a 106 [checkout] in that game."
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Should Littler beat Humphries tonight, he will rise up to ninth position on the Order of Merit - and pocket £500,000.
But even if he fails to win, the 16-year-old will pocket £200,000 and end the tournament ranked world number 31, which will almost certainly rise given that he isn't 'defending' any prize money on his first full year as a professional darts player.
Topics: Luke Littler, Darts
Ryan Smart