''If I want it, then I should get it'' - Luke Littler targeting Phil Taylor's darting records

Luke Littler, after winning the Premier League Darts and the World Series Finals, has now clinched the first major ranking title of his blossoming. On Sunday night, "The Nuke" won the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts on his tournament debut in Wolverhampton.

It was a sensational showing from Littler on finals day in Wolverhampton. He beat Gary Anderson 16-15 in a terrific semifinal, then utterly decimated Martin Lukeman to take the title. The 17-year-old Englishman fell behind 0-2 early on, but then won as many as 15 legs in a row before Littler eventually decided the battle 16-3.

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With the win, Littler moves up to fifth place on the PDC Order of Merit and is now the favourite with bookmakers to take the world title at the World Darts Championship in December - January. Losing Grand Slam finalist Lukeman waxed lyrical about him after their meeting and he believes he has the talent to surpass the performances of Michael van Gerwen and even Phil Taylor. When asked if Littler can establish himself in the history books of darts, the English prodigy himself is confident that one day he can be among the sport's greatest players.

''If I want it, then I should get it,'' he said to Sky Sports of the records of Phil Taylor. "But it's going to take quite some years to pick up the amount of trophies, not only what Michael van Gerwen has got, but also Phil Taylor."

The first goal for Littler is the rankings, and he wants to be even higher than fifth in the Order of Merit by the end of the season. "I knew coming into the tournament, if I do get my hands on the trophy, which is a long way away, I'll be up to No 5 in the world… No 5 in the space of 10 months," he concluded. "There's still another two more ranking tournaments to go so hopefully I can go a bit higher than five."

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