Phil Taylor believes Luke Littler is motivated by winning, rather than money, and has backed the 17-year-old to end 2025 as the world No 1.
Littler was beaten by Luke Humphries in the final of the Players Championship on Sunday, with the teenager scooping £60,000 in prize money.
His run to the final came after he recently won the Grand Slam of Darts, further cementing his reputation as the best young player on the planet.
Littler made the final of the World Darts Championship earlier in the year but missed out on glory to Humphries.
Phil Taylor believes Luke Littler is motivated by winning, rather than money, and has backed the 17-year-old to end 2025 as the world No 1
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A year on, he will be hoping to go one further by securing a memorable win at Alexandra Palace.
Taylor, previewing the competition for Casino Reviews, believes Littler is motivated by winning.
And he also thinks the teenager is destined to become the world No 1 ‘soon’, despite Humphries currently holding that honour.
“I absolutely loved it [Littler winning the Grand Slam of Darts], that is dead on you can put your money on that, and your mortgage on that, he will become world number one soon,” he said.
“The World Championships is going to tell us a lot (on if he can do it).
“He definitely has the ability, and he’s got the age and youth on his side.
“Luke isn’t motivated by money; he just likes winning, so he will go into the World Championships and £500,000 for the winner won’t even enter his head.”
Taylor was then asked if anything can stop Littler from dominating the sport.
The 64-year-old added: “Not really. With what he is doing, some people agree with it, and some don’t in the way he chills out.
“Luke does his 10 or 15 minutes of practice before a game and then he is done. If it suits him then carry on because whatever he is doing is working for him.”
Meanwhile, Littler showed class on Sunday night by congratulating Humphries on his latest triumph.
Speaking to ITV, he said: “It was tough, I missed a few doubles.
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Phil Taylor feels Luke Littler could end 2025 as the world No 1
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“Luke could’ve been 5-0 up, I could’ve been. If you don’t take your chances early on, it’s a lot to come back. I hit the 170 and the 164 but I just didn’t have enough in the end.
“It’s just like Luke said, he needs to take advantage before I start winning them.
“I don’t blame him! Sound. It’s been a good past two weeks.
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Luke Littler lost to Luke Humphries in the final of the World Darts Championship
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“I can’t wait to go home, chill out and obviously practice at home for the Worlds. That’s it now, leading up to the big one.
“We always produce our best against each other. But like I said that first session, I didn’t have enough to get it back and Luke took full advantage.
“So fair enough to him.”
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