Luke Littler has opened up following his win over Ryan Joyce at the World Darts Championship on Monday.
The 17-year-old had to dig deep to make the quarter-finals of the competition, with the teenager winning 4-3 at Alexandra Palace in a thrilling clash.
Littler is the favourite to secure glory in north London this winter, especially given Luke Humphries’ shock elimination.
Humphries exited the tournament on Sunday night, with the 29-year-old slumping to a shock defeat to Peter Wright.
Luke Littler has opened up following his win over Ryan Joyce at the World Darts Championship on Monday
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Littler was pleased to overcome Joyce, who put up a big fight in defeat.
And the darts star has now opened up on his victory, revealing he talked to Joyce midway through their showdown after being left impressed by his performance.
“A few of the legs I started off with a 177 and just thought, ‘there’s a treble 19 out the way’,” he said.
“Obviously I don’t end the year with five nine-darters but hopefully I can start the year off strong and get a nine for everyone.”
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He then added: “I went into 10th gear at one point. I had to.
“I just said to Ryan, ‘I thought you didn’t have your power scoring with you?’ He hit everything at me. I had to dig deep.
“I just wanted him to miss. I had a lot of chances with my doubles but I’m happy to win.
“I wouldn’t say I was nervous – it was more the adrenaline – but I knew in the last leg I had to hold my own and I did on that double 12, which shows I can hit it.”
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While Humphries is out, Littler can’t afford to rest on his laurels.
He will face Nathan Aspinall in the last eight, with the teenager creeping closer to becoming a world champion.
And Littler is looking forward to that showdown, with the youngster revealing he’ll be taking it easy over the New Year as he looks to go all the way.
“Me and Nath have played plenty of times in the Premier League,” he continued.
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Luke Littler was impressed by Ryan Joyce in their World Darts Championship clash
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“He played very well this afternoon against Ricardo [Pietreczko]. I’ve just seen then I had 103 [average] which I’m very happy with. Another 14 180s.
“I’ll just chill tomorrow and come back New Year’s Day. I don’t really know what 2025 will hold in store for me, I haven’t really thought about it yet, but obviously I want to start the year strong and get that win over Nathan.”
Darts legend John Part, meanwhile, feels Littler will benefit from his close match with Joyce.
“It was everything we could have hoped for,” he said.
Luke Littler will face Nathan Aspinall in the next round of the World Darts Championship
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“We got to see Littler tested and tried, it was nice to see he wasn’t perfect and could use some work but he was resilient against a relentless opponent.
“Those are the matches we like to watch. Ones where both players refuse to concede, to give up, and if they’re given an extra opportunity they take it.
“Luke got the job done, an extra gear in the last set with an average of almost 111. His best performance of the match came at the end. Littler is quite a talent. He’s got a good chance.”