Luke Littler: Did the world No 1 know the sensational matchplay nine-darter was coming? How close is he to being the greatest of all time? | Darts News

Luke Littler thinks he still has a long way to go to become the “greatest ever” darts player but is motivated to check off achievements off his list, starting with back-to-back World Matchplays in Blackpool.

Littler took a step closer to that goal by booking his place in the quarter-finals against Josh Rock with a dramatic 11-8 win over Nathan Aspinall.

It was a simply incredible display from Littler. After hitting a nine-darter in the opening leg, he almost found perfection again in the fourth but was just wide at D15.

He also hit 14 180s in the competition and his average of 113.68 is the second highest recorded in world matchplay after Phil Taylor’s 144.99 in 2010.

Littler is looking to become the first player since Michael van Gerwen in 2017 to go back-to-back at Blackpool, and the world No.1 currently holds the World Darts Championship, UK Open, Premier League and Masters. He is also defending matchplay, Grand Slams, Grand Prix and Players Championship finals.

With a clean sweep still firmly in his sights, Littler should start the charge by defending his title on the beach. So, how close is Littler to being ‘the greatest’?

“There’s definitely been that discussion, I think ever since I first came on the scene, ‘Is he going to be the next Phil Taylor?'” Littler said.

“I’ve always said, if I don’t win 16 of these, 16 world championships and whatever, I think I’ll be the best.

“Am I going to be in 16 years? Who knows?

“If I can win 16 back-to-back world championships, I’ll be gone.”

Can Littler guess the nine-darter? ‘I was saving that for later’

In his epic battle with Aspinall, Littler was one D15 shy of two nine-darters, a feat only achieved by Taylor on TV.

Although it was an exciting moment to hit a nine with his first nine darts, Littler’s practice gave him a glimpse of one to come.

“I want to put up my best stats in every game and I think I did that again tonight,” he added.

“I think, at one point, I had the highest average and Phil had 114. So, I know that record has to be broken.

“Everybody’s been asking me how I did it, but I really don’t know. It was the first leg of the game and then to wire double 15 again, it was really brave not to hit two in one game.

“I was practicing at home today and I made 11 from the first against Dart Bot. I actually missed double 15 and then my sister’s boyfriend went, ‘Oh, you c**p, you.’

“I saved it until later. And I hit it.”

Aspinall: Best match of my career

While such a dramatic and impressive encounter can be tough to lose, Aspinall took the loss as motivation, describing the competition as his best ever and will use it to fuel his “hunger”.

In a statement on social media after the match, Aspinall said: “I had the most enjoyable game of darts in my career.

“It was absolutely everything and I gave it my all.

“Fair play to Luke Littler, you’ve been simply unreal. Six trebleless visits in 19 legs is a stat that jumps out at me. Wow.

“It definitely got my appetite back. The support was unreal.”

What’s happening in World Matchplay on Wednesday?

Round two action continues on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports, with four more big matches coming your way.

Cameron Menzies will be looking to back up a huge win over world No.2 Luke Humphries when he takes on Ross Smith.

Gerwyn Price then takes on fellow former world champion Rob Cross.

World No. 3 Gian van Veen faces the Dutchman and in-form Wessel Nijmann, while James Wade takes on Ryan Searle.

Who will win this year’s World Matchplay Darts? Luke Littler will defend his title and you can watch all the action on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more great games now.