"I'm not afraid of Luke Littler" - Raymond van Barneveld ready for battle of the generations at the World Darts Championship

Across the darting world, people are eagerly awaiting Saturday night's clash between Raymond van Barneveld and Luke Littler in the fourth round of the World Darts Championship.

It's a battle of the generations. Van Barneveld, a player with over 40 years of experience and five world titles, against the 16-year-old wonderkid who was born 20 days after the legendary World Championship final between Van Barneveld and Taylor.

Despite the huge generation gap, the respect between the two players is great. ''I enjoy that boy. Really formidable,'' Van Barneveld spoke earlier full of admiration for Littler. The latter called the Dutchman a ''living legend'' after reaching the last sixteen.

Darts colleague Michael van Gerwen earlier also revealed that he is greatly looking forward to a duel between Van Barneveld and Littler. However, Van Gerwen does not suspect the clash will be exciting. ''I think Raymond will demolish him then, he has too many qualities and too much experience,'' said the three-time world champion, who may not meet Littler or Van Barneveld until the final.

After 'Barney's' victory over Jim Williams (4-1), Van Barneveld faced Van Gerwen's prediction. ''Whether I'm going to demolish him? Yes, I think so. I have a lot of respect for that little guy, but I'm not afraid of Phil Taylor, I'm not afraid of Michael van Gerwen and I'm not afraid of Luke Humphries. So I'm not afraid of Luke Littler either,'' the Dutch dart pioneer responded.

Van Barneveld, however, is not sure if he can count on the crowd's support in his match against Littler and therefore has already made an important decision. ''I'm playing with earplugs. The Barney Army always supports me, but against a 16-year-old talent from England, you know it can go the other way.''