Luke Littler climbed to world No 5 with his win in Wolverhampton but is the favourite to become the next world champion; the World Darts Championship starts on Sunday December 15, live on Sky Sports Darts, with the final on Friday January 3
Tuesday 19 November 2024 06:33, UK
Wayne Mardle believes Luke Littler's victory at the Grand Slam of Darts will strike fear into his fellow players and see him emerge as the joint favourite for the World Championship next month.
The 17-year-old sensation claimed his first major TV ranking title in Wolverhampton on Sunday night with a 16-3 thrashing of Martin Lukeman, barely 24 hours after cruising past Jermaine Wattimena in the quarter-finals by an even more comprehensive 16-2 scoreline.
Littler also proved he could win tough matches, coming from behind to win last-leg shootouts against Mike De Decker in the last 16 and an epic semi-final against Gary Anderson on Sunday afternoon.
His success saw him installed as the bookmakers' favourite to become world champion at Alexandra Palace - a tournament which starts on December 15, live on Sky Sports - and Sky Sports expert Mardle agrees that he and defending champion Luke Humphries will be the players to beat.
"Coming into this, it was Luke Humphries, he's the man to beat, he's the one that they've all got to kind of get rid of and get out of the draw," Mardle said.
"Now it's Luke Littler and if Littler or Humphries goes out early in the Worlds, the other one goes as the favourite immediately.
"The way that Luke Littler has played this week, he was playable.
"At times it was unplayable - especially with Martin Lukeman and against Jermaine Wattemina - but two players have had a right good go at trying to beat him and just failed.
"It's not that they can't beat Luke, it's just the fact that he somehow finds a way to get over the line.
"And in the long-format World Championship, he's going to be difficult to beat, he really is, and the other players know that."
Sunday's victory is the latest success from a truly remarkable debut year on the PDC circuit for Littler.
After becoming international news when he reached the 2024 World Championship final aged only 16, he has gone on to win the Premier League, the World Series of Darts, the Bahrain Darts Masters and the Poland Darts Masters in his breakthrough year.
He has climbed to No 5 in the PDC Order of Merit - a ranking that is judged over two years of prize money - and Mardle believes he should be talked about in the same breath as the sport's greats like Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Eric Bristow.
"The best thing that happened was that he got an invite into the Premier League and accepted it," Mardle said.
"That was the change for me. The way that we saw him acquit himself every single week in the Premier League was mind-blowing, it was mesmerising.
"Sometimes you had to look at him and remember how young he is. The Premier League is a real tough ask. It's so difficult week in, week out.
"But when you are good enough, none of that matters, and Luke Littler's good enough.
"He's right up there with some of the best that we've ever seen, but he's got to do it again and again and again.
"He's right up there with Taylor, Van Gerwen, 'Barney' and Eric Bristow, for me."
Littler also has endured disappointment in the last 12 months, exiting the World Matchplay, the World Grand Prix and the European Championship in the first round.
And Mardle insists that's all part of the learning that has seen him become a new force in the sport.
"When you are as good as him, like when Michael van Gerwen was at his peak powers, if he got beaten the first round, or Phil Taylor got beaten the first round, you don't expect it," he said.
"So it's like, 'what's happening? What's gone wrong?'
"Nothing's gone wrong, just not everyone's a robot and you can't play well all the time.
"This week, he's been a bit of a robot. That's exactly what's happened.
"He's been a professional darts player for all of 11 months and this is something that I think we're becoming used to.
"And do you know what I think's really apt? That he's holding the Eric Bristow Trophy, probably one of the finest teenage darts sensations back in the day that we've ever set eyes on.
"Eric would approve. He certainly would."
The next live darts on Sky Sports is the World Darts Championship, which starts on Sunday December 15 with every match live on Sky Sports Darts through to the final on Friday January 3. Stream darts and more live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW.
