PDC world darts: teenage star Luke Littler powers to historic last-16 place

Luke Littler's remarkable journey persisted as he defeated Matt Campbell with a score of 4-1, enabling him to advance to the fourth round of the PDC world darts championship.

The young prodigy, aged 16, was a hit at the Alexandra Palace and captivated an enthusiastic audience with an impressive display against Campbell from Canada. Littler has progressed to the tournament's last 16, making history by becoming the youngest player to do so.

Littler managed to win against Christian Kist and the champion of UK Open, Andrew Gilding. He was now going to face Campbell in the third round who had previously beaten James Wade. The young player from Cheshire made a really great start, winning the first six legs which helped him lead with 2-0.

During the holiday season, Campbell went to Canada before coming back to the UK on Boxing Day. In the third set, Campbell seemed to be in a good position after winning the first two legs. However, Littler stepped up his game and won three legs in a row, putting him ahead by three sets.

During a match, Littler failed to hit the final dart needed to win with a 4-0 score. This was an unusual error on his part. As a result, Campbell won a set. However, Littler then made a strong comeback by hitting two checkouts of over 100 points each, even though it was not his turn to throw. One of these checkouts was an impressive 164 points, which ultimately led to Littler securing a memorable victory.

The present winner of the PDC world youth championship will receive a definite amount of £35,000. However, he aims to go further in the game. After that, he will compete against either Jim Williams or Raymond van Barneveld. Littler has great admiration for the 56-year-old former world champion, who is his darts idol.

Littler scored an average of 97.19 and hit eight 180s while playing against Campbell. He attributed his impressive performance to some extra practice session he had after dinner back at his place on the eve of Christmas Day. He plans to stick to his habit of relishing a kebab after the game, as he secured his third triumph at the most significant darts competition.

When addressing the audience post-game, Littler exclaimed: "This is incredible. I had set my sights on winning just one match, but I managed to secure three despite the challenges. Needless to say, I am overjoyed."

Regarding the buzz he's generated on social media due to his gameplay, he explained that he simply allows his darts to speak for him. Despite the comments about his age that he's seen online, he believes in the power of his game. After securing his initial victory against Kist, he became more at ease.

During the evening of Wednesday's repertoire of games, Michael van Gerwen will compete against his fellow Dutchman, Richard Veenstra, while the main title holder, Michael Smith, will face off against Madars Razma of Latvia.