Luke Littler has given darts star a 'kick up the backside' as rivalry warning fired

Luke Littler has given darts star a 'kick up the backside' as rivalry warning fired

WATCH NOW: Luke Littler speaks after his World Darts Championship final loss

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 16/01/2024

- 09:57

There is another youngster desperate to make a story in darts

Leighton Bennett is the original wonderkid of darts and is keen to get the tag back from Luke Littler.

Littler has stolen Bennett's thunder of late but the 18-year-old is desperate to create a rivalry after winning a PDC Tour Card.


The World Darts Championship saw Littler become the youngest player to ever win a match at the tournament.

He didn't finish there, though, as he beat world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross on his way to the final.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler gave Leighton Bennett a kick up the backside

Getty

New world No 1 Luke Humphries proved too much for Littler in the final, as he fell to a 7-4 defeat.

But his performances saw him earn a wildcard spot in the Premier League, which starts next month.

However, he may not be the only teenager set to take the sport by storm.

Bennett is the original wonderkid of darts, having grabbed headlines when he beat 16-time world champion Phil Taylor at the age of 13 at the SAP Darts Slam in Frankfurt.

His rise to stardom hasn't followed the same path as Littler.

But he won a PDC Tour card at Q School last week to join him on the Pro Tour.

Bennett says Littler's performance at Ally Pally gave him a much-needed mental boost.

He told the Daily Star: "There’s been no pressure I’ve felt over the past year to be honest - Luke has taken the spotlight off me.

"Happy days really, I could just focus on my own game.

"If I did have a bad game, no one was really going on about it.

"But seeing Luke at the Worlds has given me a kick up the backside and now I just want to push on and get back up there myself.

"When I was 12 or 13, I was probably was playing the best darts of my life - but this week has seen glimpses of the old me. I’ve got the old confidence.

"I’ve proved loads and loads of people wrong from years ago.

"They said I was just a kid and he won't do anything in years to come.

"Here we are now, and I’m actually classified as a professional dart player.

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Leighton Bennett

Leighton Bennett wants a long-term rivalry with Luke Littler

PA

Bennett and Littler have met on the oche many times before in youth tournaments.

And he has now sent a direct word of warning to his fellow teen that he is gunning for him now he is a pro.

Bennett is hoping to forge a rivalry akin to that of Taylor's famous battles with five-time world champion Van Barneveld.

He added: "I’d love it if Luke and I became a new Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld sort of rivalry.

"It would be great if we drew each other at the UK Open on the main stage.

"I think that’s what people would want. I’d want that draw definitely.

"I think I’ve played Luke 50 or 60 times. I’ve got a better record over him, only because I was a bit older probably.

Leighton Bennett

Leighton Bennett is darts' original wonderkid

PA

"Over the past two years he has battered me more. I beat him last time though, I need to say that obviously!

"I wanted to get back to where I knew I could be and, to be honest, it’s come much sooner than I thought. "

Although I’m so glad with everything I did before with Phil Taylor and the exhibitions when I was 13, I did lose a bit of love for the sport.

"I’ve got back into it like mad and now winning a Tour card has made me want to succeed even more than ever before.

"Being on the ProTour is now a completely different ball game. It’s another chapter now."

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