Gary Anderson has warned against putting excessive pressure on 16-year-old Luke Littler ahead of his clash against Raymond van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship.
Littler, the world youth champion, is the youngest player to reach the last 16 and was born 21 days after Van Barneveld won the most recent of his five world titles in 2007.
The pair will face off at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, and two-time world champion Anderson is worried about the amount of attention being put on Littler at such a young age. “If it goes t*** up with Luke, give yourselves a pat on the back,” Anderson told reporters. “Let the boy play darts.
I’ve been downstairs and he’s got cameras, zoom calls, meetings…Let the boy play darts. “He’s had a great tournament, he’s done well.