'I was like, does he want it? Is he hungry?' - Luke Littler names Ally Pally win over Van Barneveld as one of biggest career moments

Luke Littler has reflected on the three matches that have given him the biggest buzz so far in his already remarkable career. The world number two picked out his fourth-round win over darting icon Raymond van Barneveld at the 2024 World Darts Championship as the third most memorable moment of his young journey on the oche.

‘The Nuke’ delivered a stunning performance to sweep aside the five-time world champion with a 4-1 victory, making history in the process by becoming the youngest player ever to reach a World Championship final at Alexandra Palace.

Littler, who was just 16 at the time, looked back on that dream debut in North London and the surreal experience of beating one of his childhood heroes.

“I think number three is… It’s either my first game of the Worlds on debut or beating Barney in round four," Littler reflects. “But I’ll probably say beating Barney."

“First I faced Christian Kist, and then it was Andrew Gilding, and then it was Matt Campbell and then Barney. But when I won my first two games, it went on for Christmas. But while we were home, I’m pretty sure Gary Anderson lost, Gerwyn Price lost — I was with them in the bracket," he remembers. “So as soon as they went out, I was like, we’ve got Matt Campbell, he’s come over from Canada on Boxing Day, I’m pretty sure. So if we get past him, then it’s Barney. And if we get past Barney, fancy my chance against Brendan Dolan. Then it was Rob Cross or Chris Dobey."

Speaking about Van Barneveld, Littler added: “Obviously Raymond, I think he’s retired three times now, but he’s always come back. So I was like, does he want it? Is he hungry? But yeah, just leading up to it, I was just like, practice, make sure you’re ready for it. And then, yeah, I went on to win 4-1.”

Littler would go on to make history in early 2025 by becoming the youngest world champion of all time at the age of 17. He now has five major titles to his name.

Asked about the biggest highlights of his career so far, he said: “Second, I’ll probably say the Premier League. Yeah. Number one’s World Championship, 2025.”