- Luke Littler claimed he had already exceeded his expectations before the tournament
- Raymond van Barneveld will face Jim Williams on Friday afternoon
- Teenage star Littler became the youngest player ever to reach the last 16 of the WDC
Luke Littler's fairytale World Darts Championship campaign continues into the last sixteen, but the sixteen-year-old sensation has admitted he has nothing left to lose as he enters the final stages of the competition.
The teenager has risen to fame at Alexandra Palace in recent weeks, winning over fans and critics alike with his play. His latest victory comes on Wednesday against Canadian Matt Campbell.
After earning a payday of at least £35,000, he has already revealed he plans to head to Alton Towers or Blackpool with his friends at the end of the tournament, but he hopes to increase his price even further this weekend .
He broke the record for the youngest ever to reach the last 16 at the WDC against Campbell, seeing off the 34-year-old to win 4-1 at Ally Pally in the third round.
But now faced with the prospect of a clash with Jim Williams or 2007 champion Raymond van Barneveld, he has suggested he has already exceeded his own pre-competition expectations.
Luke Littler has admitted he has nothing to lose if he progresses to the last 16 of the World Darts Championship
The Warrington-born 16-year-old saw off Matt Campbell to claim a 4-1 win in the third round
'Obviously when I didn't do the first and second competitions I thought, “I've got nothing to lose for myself now” – I'd overachieved and now I can just settle for it.'
Littler opened up a three-set lead against Campbell, with a first maximum early in the match and a run of six straight legs as he dominated the early action.
Campbell – who pushed Littler in the third – would take the fourth set to prevent a whitewash for the youngster, but The Nuke regained composure after missing a bull to seal the win, before coming back to claim victory to achieve five sets.
After the race he admitted he was just happy to cross the line as he started to feel some nerves in the closing stages of the meeting at his first WDC.
'(I was) just happy to get over the line, after the 120 to become 3-1 I actually just thought to myself, “I really need to get off the podium and relax myself”, but then I thought just “three more legs and I can get off that stage”.
He finished the competition with an average of 97.19 and eight maximums against the much more experienced Campbell, but Littler remained adamant that he didn't care much about his numbers, just that he came out on top.
When asked about his own assessment, he said: 'Overall a good performance, I could win with the lowest average of the tournament, I'm just happy I got through it.'
Littler's potential route to the final is littered with previous winners, with potential clashes with Gerwyn Price (last eight), Michael Smith (last four) and Michael van Gerwen (final) if he were to go all the way.
He could face 2007 champion Raymond van Barneveld if the Dutchman gets past Jim Williams on Friday
However, he may first have to find a way past another former champion in Van Barneveld, should the Dutch legend beat Wales' Williams on Friday afternoon.
“It would be incredible to play against Raymond,” the 16-year-old admitted when asked who he would most like to play against.
“Obviously the crowd has to choose who they want on their side, so I would love to play Raymond, but Jim is also in good form.”
While a run at one of darts' biggest crowns might suggest otherwise, Littler was quick to remind everyone that he's still an ordinary teenager at heart after revealing how he's been celebrating the festive period: 'To be honest it was just Xbox, Xbox.