After cementing his place as one of the sport’s greats with ‘The Nuke’, Wayne Mardle says it’s up to players to rise to the challenge and ‘get into Luke Littler’.
On Saturday night, Littler defeated Ally Parry Wasp and Jan van Veen to win back-to-back world championships.
The 18-year-old joins Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson in winning back-to-back titles and becomes the new king of Alexandra Palace.
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Highlights of the World Championship final between Littler and Jan van Veen
Littler has not lost on that stage since two years ago, when he made an epic debut in the lead-up to the final, beating Van Veen 7-1 to claim a record £1m prize.
The average was almost 106, the max was 15, and the “big fish” checkout was 170, which was one of the great final performances.
“Luke Littler has proven time and time again that he can play better for longer than anyone and that’s the fact,” Mardle told Sky Sports.
“There were 31 legs played and he won 23 of them. The chances he gave Van Veen were limited.
“We believe he will win more and more.
“There’s nothing he can’t do on a dartboard, but we’re getting to the point with Luke.
“Like when Phil Taylor played well, he won. When Michael van Gerwen played well, he won. Now it’s Luke Littler.
“The format doesn’t matter. He’s just the best. Look at how many head starts he gave everyone in the World Match Play. He’s the most reliable player and if you have a long format event like this, good luck.”
“Luke continues to set new challenges for himself. It’s up to the other players to get better, but that’s some standard.
“We have some quality players right now, but they’ve got to step up and run at Luke Littler.”
Did Littler peak too early?
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Littler won the world championship with this stunning checkout…
The darts prodigy underlined his status as a generational talent in the sport.
He was in great shape last year, winning five of six majors, and looks set to enter an era-defining period of dominance similar to that enjoyed by “The Power” Taylor.
“When Adrian Ruiz won back-to-back games in 2011 and 2012, you would think he would win three, four, five more. You never know when the end is going to come. You never know when everything is going to stop,” Mardle said.
“Phil Taylor won his last world championship in 2013. He was still number two in the world in 2016.
“This is the thing about professional sports. He could have been at his peak, but I don’t think so! Look at Gary Anderson in 2015 and 2016. ‘Oh, Gary, I’m not going to win anymore!'”
“Look at Raymond van Barneveld in 2007. ‘Ray, you can’t beat my friends anymore!’ – ‘Of course.’
“No one knows, and that’s what makes this so special.
“I think that’s what Luke Littler does. The standards he produces are all similar. He typically averages 103, 104, 105 in events.
“Obviously, with an odd 97 or 98, the odd game creeps in, but the odd 110 offsets that. This is his standard and people need to improve. I don’t think he’s regressing.”
Van Veen has already accomplished a lot.
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Littler and Van Veen discuss their new rivalry…
Van Veen was disappointed not to be able to give Littler a real match, but former Lakeside champion Mark Webster believes “this is just the beginning” for the new Dutch No.1.
“He’s going to be disappointed, but he’s been playing well,” Webster said.
“He had not won in his last two attempts at Alexandra Palace, but now he has reached the final.
“He’s achieved a lot. He’s going to play a lot more darts this year so he’s going to have to manage his schedule so there’s going to be different challenges for him because he’s a hungry player and he’s going to enjoy it.”
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will defend his title and the fight will be available to watch on Sky Sports every Thursday from February to May. Stream darts and other top sports now.
