Luke Littler may need to take a break from darts despite his impressive performances ahead of night eight of the Premier League in Newcastle.
That's according to Dennis Priestley, who believes the 18-year-old could need to take action to avoid burnout.
Littler has become a household name over the past 14 months, with the darts star establishing himself as one of the best players on the planet.
He is currently the defending Premier League champion, while he also secured glory in the World Darts Championship at the start of the year.
Luke Littler has been warned he may need to take a break from darts as he prepares for night eight of the Premier League
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And Littler has continued to shine in the Premier League this term, too.
The prodigy has picked up 21 points via three nightly victories to sit six clear of Luke Humphries at the summit.
Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price make up the rest of the top four, with Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting trailing in their wake.
Priestley has now fired a warning to Littler, however.
The darts icon thinks the youngster may need to take a break to avoid burnout, having played regularly since bursting onto the scene.
“Luke Littler says he didn’t pick up his darts for a week, but he probably doesn’t have the time to practise," he told OLBG.
“They have such a full schedule with midweek and weekend competitions usually, he has been racing around hotels in different cities and he probably doesn’t have the time.
“He is playing so often that might mean he doesn’t need to practise, but he does need to be careful he doesn’t burn out.
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Luke Littler is currently six points clear of Luke Humphries at the top of the Premier League table
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"Maybe at some point he will need to take a break.”
Priestley then paid Littler a huge compliment by saying he's the best darts player to never be world No 1.
“You can say that Luke Littler is the best player in history never to have been world number one – but that is certain to happen this year," he added.
“The money list being over two years is what is stopping him at the moment, he’d be top if it was one year.
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"That’s the only reason he isn’t top and it’s now only a matter of time.”
Meanwhile, though Littler has been shining, Van Gerwen has struggled.
It recently emerged the Dutchman has struggled with illness since January, which may explain his inconsistent displays.
And Priestley believes Van Gerwen will struggle to keep pace with Littler in the coming weeks, months and years ahead.
Michael van Gerwen has been warned he's got 'no hope' of competing with Luke Littler
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He continued: “Michael van Gerwen won’t get to the level he needs to be able to compete with Luke Littler.
“He has had an incredible career and he will still keep on practising to try and get back to that level, but Littler has age on his side and looks like he is finding it easy at times.
“Van Gerwen can still win events but when it comes to matching the level that Luke Littler is showing I think he has no hope.”
