David Davies says Luke Littler is a “different breed” but expects him to pull off a big upset when they meet in the second round of the World Darts Championship on Sunday night.
World No. 1 Littler is the favorite to win the tournament, while Davis plays on the Challenger Tour, the PDC’s second-tier circuit.
Davies is juggling a full-time job with the NHS in North Wales and is working this week in preparation for the biggest game of his career.
“I want to feed people, that’s why I joined the NHS,” Davis said. Davies is guaranteed £25,000 for his first-round victory.
“It’s a very difficult decision (whether to take darts seriously instead), but I also need confidence in how far I can go in the professional game.
“You know, this standard is completely ridiculous at the moment. People are losing by an average of 100 points. We will cross that bridge, but my priority now is the World Championship and then I will make a decision in January.”
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Debutant David Davis shares his thoughts on facing defending champion Luke Littler in the second round of the World Darts Championship
Davis was on a cruise ship and was unable to participate in the tournament drawing, but a friend told him about the possibility of facing Littler in the second round.
He added: “No game is easy. Luke is a different breed. He has taken the sport to a different level.”
“Every match is going to be tough. I’m going to be the underdog in every match I play. I don’t have a tour card, but I deserve to be here. So I’ll try my best and see what happens.”
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After defeating Mario Vandenbogarde, David Davis will face Luke Littler in the next round of the World Darts Championship, and it was a tense finish!
Littler: I’m not putting any pressure on myself.
Littler is aiming to become the first fighter since Gary Anderson 10 years ago to defend his title after becoming world champion, coming off a star-studded 12 months in which he won five major ranking titles.
Littler is likely to clash with Gerwyn Price, and if they both advance they will meet in the quarter-finals, but the 18-year-old admitted he had considered that possibility when the draw was announced.
“I wasn’t planning on reading, but I was reading a little bit about who I could play against. I’m going to take it back to my first world championship and take it game by game and see what happens,” he said.
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Luke Littler achieves 100+ consecutive finishes against Darius Labanauskas at the World Darts Championship
“Everyone is a rival and you never know what’s going to happen. That’s the world championship. If you can’t be on your A game, you can’t win, so you have to try to play well. But if we play in the quarterfinals, the biggest match will be Gaethje. I’m not putting any pressure on myself.”
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel until Saturday 3rd January. Stream darts and other top sports now.
