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Teenage sensation Luke “The Nuke” Littler has not slowed down since bursting onto the scene of professional darts with a runner-up finish at the Darts World Championships in January.
Since then the 17-year-old Littler has won two world series events, two European Tour trophies and won the Premier League on debut.
But because Littler, who is regarded as one of the two best players in the world right now, didn’t play on the PDC Tour full-time last year he is often unseeded at majors.
That’s how he ended up getting drawn against No. 2 seed and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen in Round 1 of the World Matchplay.
Despite being the unseeded player, Littler is a -170 favorite over van Gerwen in Monday’s headliner at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England.
What’s most impressive about Littler is that the teenager rarely seems to have an off night.
There have been plenty of other young darting sensations, but consistency is usually the last thing they conquer.
For Littler, it seems to be his biggest asset. No moment is too big and no opponent is too daunting for the 17-year-old, so he’ll have no issues going toe-to-toe with one of the legends of the sport.
As for van Gerwen, 2024 has been a bit of a grind.
Even in down years you’d expect MVG to be picking up trophies here and there, but he just isn’t doing that at the moment.
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He’s not at the top of his game and hasn’t been for quite some time, so Littler actually looks decent value here.
THE PLAY: Littler (-170, Bet365)