Luke Littler: Teenager has to live with ridiculous level of pressure at World Darts Championship | darts news

Legend John Part says teenager Luke Littler has to live with “ridiculous” levels of pressure as he bids to win his first World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Littler came within millimeters of a nine-dart finish when he beat Ryan Meikle in record fashion on Saturday night.

The 17-year-old returned to the big stage 12 months after his remarkable debut to the final and showed everyone why he is the favorite to win the title this year.

Littler was one breath away from perfection when he missed a double 12 but fired an impressive average of 140.91 in the final set to win 3-1..

That is the record for the highest single-set average at the world championships as the Warrington ace continues to break barriers.

The victory was extremely emotional for Littler, who interrupted his onstage interview after breaking down in tears.

“I don’t think anyone can understand how much pressure he has on him,” Part said. sky sports. “There may be some people who played the game and understand it, but certainly no one has had to deal with it at their age.

“Just the overwhelming amount of demands on his time and any possibility of him not performing, I think that really weighs on him. I’m sure there’s a lot of relief for him.

“I’m sure he’s disappointed about missing a nine-darter, but I don’t think that has anything to do with the release in the end. I think he’s healthy enough.

“You have a lot of emotion built up there, and you have to control it while you play. That’s why it’s a winner. You know what, if he needs to have a little time to himself afterwards, then that’s fine.”

Littler came into the tournament as the biggest name in the sport and ‘The Nuke’ booked his return to Ally Pally after Christmas against Ritchie Edhouse or Ian White in the third round.

“He’s been having fun, probably going to all these new places, playing tournaments he hasn’t played before, winning a lot of them, playing a lot of matches,” Part continued. “If you like playing darts, playing a lot of games is fun.

“He’s had a great time, but I think the whole reality of what he’s done for the game that started at last year’s World Championship finally came crashing down on him after he won.

“It’s great that it wasn’t after a loss, because it wouldn’t even seem fair after everything he’s done for the game.

“Watching Luke, it occurred to me that none of his experiences playing matches last year were helpful to him, I don’t think so, because I think he’s a completely different player now. He has different expectations for himself and his opponents. What are they going to do against him?

“There was a kind of awkwardness last year, playing against a 16-year-old and the players didn’t know what to do with it. ‘Am I going to be embarrassed if I lose, maybe?’ Those outdated ideas, right? Not this year: he is the favorite of the tournament.

“He is the god of darts in the eyes of a lot of people who were expecting. That’s a lot for him to live up to. I just think this was the first experience of what his real professional career is like at the world championships.

“The levels of expectation, the ridiculous level of pressure he’s going to have to live with. It won’t go away, it will be every time he plays, but it will become a condition, I’m sure.”

Watch the World Darts Championship on Sky Sports

Watch all the action on the PDC World Darts Championship 2025 from Alexandra Palace in air sports darts As Luke Humphries defends his title with Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson challenge ‘Cool Hand’ for the Sid Waddell Trophy, and you can enjoy the best of it here.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch all matches exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more sports highlights with NOW.