Luke Littler insists 'I'm just a dart player' after Nathan Aspinall said the teenager was more of a celebrity.
Aspinall has highlighted the impact the 17-year-old has made on the sport but claimed he is a celeb compared to his rivals.
Littler won his second Premier League night in a row on Thursday in front of his home fans in Manchester.
He beat stablemate Aspinall in the semi-final before defeating Gerwyn Price to claim all five points and move to the top of the table.
Luke Littler has hit back at Nathan Aspinall's claim that he is not a darts player
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Aspinall, also at his home venue, spoke to the press after he was beaten by Littler for the fourth time in five meetings this year.
The 32-year-old has known the new darts sensation for several years as they both share the same management company.
He believes the increased media spotlight on darts is purely because of the impact Littler has made in recent months.
Aspinall said: "He is a fantastic talent. What he's done for the sport. Forget about his darts ability because it's not about his darts.
"He's not a darts player, he's a celebrity. I'm a darts player, he's a celebrity. That's the difference.
"But what's he doing, because he's a celebrity, he's projecting darts to a whole new level.
"I did a day of media on Tuesday at the BBC, BBC have never cared about darts. All of a sudden me and Luke Littler are in there for five hours doing media, they want us.
"That isn't because of me or (Michael) Van Gerwen, that's because of Luke Littler. So you've got to give credit where credit is due."
Littler admits he may be regarded as a celebrity due to his big following on social media.
But he insists he is a darts player first and foremost and will continue to be so while taking what comes with it.
Littler responded: "Maybe look at my following, I might be classed as a celebrity. But I'm just a lad doing what he does best.
"Am I? I don't know. I'm just a dart player. I just get on with it, whatever comes my way.
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Luke Littler has beaten Nathan Aspinall four times out of five in 2024
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"I just have to get on with it. Whether I say things and don't back it up. But at the minute I'm saying things and do back it up."
Littler has already won three PDC tournaments since he burst onto the scene at the World Darts Championship last December.
He has also hit three nine-darters and is sitting above world No 1 Luke Humphries in the Premier League table.
But Aspinall still believes Littler has plenty to learn from his more experienced peers.
Nathan Aspinall says Luke Littler still has plenty to learn from his peers
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He added: "He is helping us boys out as much as himself. But darts-wise, he's great but he hasn't got what we've got at the moment.
"He's got to learn from us. I don't learn from him, he learns from me."
