Luke Littler has admitted he will 'have to fear the worst' as he prepares to take on Raymond van Barneveld at the World Series of Darts on Saturday night.
The 17-year-old beat Ross Smith 6-5 to set up the blockbuster clash, which is set to take place in the Netherlands.
Littler was pleased to beat Smith, saying after his win: "I'm glad to get over the line.
"Ross let me in and I took my chance."
Luke Littler has admitted he will 'have to fear the worst' as he prepares to take on Raymond van Barneveld at the World Series of Darts on Saturday night
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Littler previously beat Van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship.
He says it was a privelege to play against one of his childhood heroes, with the teenager also admitting he's going to 'fear the worst' due to the fact Van Barneveld will have the support of the home crowd.
"Me and Raymond will both be confident and I'll go into the game wanting to win, just like tonight," he continued.
"I'll just play my darts - in the worst case I'll have to switch on the gears again like I did tonight, but I'll have to try to get off to a good start tomorrow.
"The World Championship as a whole, was a crazy experience for myself.
"I beat one of my idols, who is Raymond. But tomorrow night, it'll be different.
"He'll have the crowd on his side and like I said, I'll just have to fear the worst."
Van Barneveld, meanwhile, has admitted he's full of admiration for Littler as their crunch showdown approaches.
The darts icon was too strong for Johan Engstrom, blowing his opponent 6-0 to go through to the last 16.
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Luke Littler previously beat Raymond van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship last year
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And Van Barneveld believes Littler is up there with the toughest opponents he's faced during his career so far.
"I was shocked in the Worlds the story went, that I was one of his idols," he said.
"He played amazing. I was literally watching him at the back of the oche thinking this is like there were magnets in his darts!
Luke Littler will have the crowd against him when he faces Raymond van Barneveld at the World Series of Darts
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"It really looked like that. I've the best players in the world. I've played Phil Taylor, I've played Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, but this was something else."
The Dutchman also expressed a belief he'll need to be at his best to overcome Littler, adding: "Playing for your home crowd is fantastic, but tomorrow you play a guy who can play like Phil Taylor!
"He's fantastic - I'm really looking forward to it. I know what I need to do to beat him; to play my A-game and maybe even more than my A-game. If you play well you always get chances, but you have to take them."
