LUKE LITTLER earned the biggest single payday of his young career after storming into the last 16 of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Luke the Nuke has captured the imagination of the sporting public over the past week with his incredibly mature exploits on the Ally Pally stage.
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A tearful Luke Littler hugged his mum Lisa after the emotional win Credit: Getty
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Nuke continued his brilliant form and reached the last 16 at Ally PallyCredit: Getty
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Littler lost just six legs out of 20 on his way to victoryCredit: PA
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Matt Campbell had no answer for the teenage prodigy Credit: Getty
And the 16-year-old beat Canadian Matt Campbell 4-1, dropping just six legs from 20 in another blistering performance on his tournament debut – before bursting into tears as he hugged his proud mum.
Warrington teenager Littler will now pick up £35,000 after winning three matches to become the youngest person in the competition’s 30-year history to get this far.
And they will spend some of that money on pants and shoes in shopping on their day off.
Littler broke down in tears after his latest PDC World Championship win – and told his mum: The dream is HIM.
And as he tucked into a late-night kebab, dreaming of the £500,000 top prize, the 16-year-old tungsten ace bellowed: Bring on my hero Barney.
If he now beats Jim Williams or his hero Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday, he will then be in the last eight, increasing the prize money to £50,000.
On the prospect of facing his hero, Littler said: “Playing Raymond would be amazing.
“Win or lose, I’ll still be happy to be in the last 16.
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16-year-old goes viral for opening his presents on ChristmasCredit: X @LisaLittler3
“I started crying when I saw my mom in the crowd. She was nervous. I saw her with her head in her hands. I told her, ‘The dream continues.’ She said the same thing.”
But after his odds for the title dropped from 150-1 to 10-1, it will take something special to stop him as he sets his sights on the £500,000 jackpot on Tuesday, January 3.
These two darts stars had quite similar Christmas days as they spent them with those closest to them – despite being 3,500 miles apart.
Littler was filmed by his mum sitting in front of the Christmas tree opening his presents on Monday, 45 minutes after the King’s speech, before jumping on his Xbox.
During that time, Campbell lived in the Canadian city of Hamilton with his wife and children.
The world number 57 decided to leave the UK a week ago after his second round win over James Wade and then return on Boxing Day because he couldn’t bear the thought of being alone.
Even if, of course, a mad dash would be detrimental to his chances of promotion.
And Campbell’s accuracy was lacking in the first set as he failed to hit any of his five double attempts and averaged 79.12.
In contrast, Littler was more lethal with his double-doubles and was 14 points better with his average after the opening three stretches, two of which were interceptions.
Littler’s mum Lisa missed his first and second rounds due to work commitments, but this time she was here in the VIP seats.
How proud she was when her son did the number on Campbell, winning the next three legs in a row to take a two-set lead, firing over a career-high 130 checkouts.
As his opponents usually go backstage for something strong to wet their throats with, Littler tends to stay onstage and continue practicing his throws.
It’s a great way to stay fresh and composed despite the TV commercial breaks.
Despite losing his way early in the third set, Littler benefited from FOUR missed darts in the set by Campbell as he came from two legs to win 3-2.
That put him up 3-0 in the best-of-seven set, and in the fourth set he had a match chance, but he was only slightly above Bullseye.
This allowed Campbell to come in and the part-time welder took out the Shanghai 120 to at least put the set on the board.
Anyone who thought the return of our North American friend was set in stone when Littler produced a sensational 164 – Treble 19, Treble 19 and then Bullseye in the fifth set.
A brilliant 11 dart 100 was then followed by double tops to seal a superb victory.
For Littler, this is the most lucrative tournament he has ever played in – his previous biggest single payout was two payouts of £27,500 during the Modus Super Series in Portsmouth.
He celebrates every victory he achieves in North London with a kebab rich in mayonnaise with his manager and family, and tonight he will tuck into his doner with special pleasure.
Littler started playing darts when he was just 18 months old, and a video of the miracle playing in diapers went viral on social media.
He said of his early days: “By the age of four I had learned a real record. From 18 months onwards I was non-stop.
“When we moved to Warrington when I was eight or nine, we started going out to pubs four to five times a week.”
Littler also became a viral sensation on Twitter, formerly known as X, where he was taller than Kylian Mbappe.
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Source: HIS Education