Pele who? Luke Littler plays down comparisons to sporting icons

Teenager Luke Littler wants to continue ripping up the record books as he targets a place in the World Darts Championship semi-finals.

The 16-year-old has taken Alexandra Palace by storm and became the youngest player to reach the quarter-finals when he emphatically beat five-time world champion and his hero Raymond van Barneveld in the last 16 on Saturday.

That set up a winnable last-eight tie with Fermanagh native Brendan Dolan on New Year's Day and he is now dreaming of lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on Wednesday.

If Littler was to win the title it would be one of the greatest sporting stories of all time and he would out-do several famous young achievers.

Pele was 17 when he won the World Cup with Brazil, Boris Becker was 18 as he claimed his first Wimbledon title while Mike Tyson became heavyweight world champion at 20.

Littler, nicknamed 'The Nuke’, has not heard of all of those names, including that of 2021 US Open singles champion Emma Raducanu, who his story shares many parallels with, but he thinks there is more to come.

"Unbelievable, the names you have just said," he said. "I know Mike, I only know Pele off FIFA and I don’t know the other ones.

"I have certainly broken the rules and records already but I know if my game is there I can beat even more records.

"My game is there, it is every darting kid’s, man’s, whoever’s dream to win it. I have certainly got the game, it is whatever happens on the day, whatever Luke Littler turns up."

Littler’s run has already made him a recognisable name and he has enjoyed celebrity status after bursting onto the scene.

Littler and his family received complimentary tickets to watch Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday night, with Gunners pair Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale asking