Phil Taylor is tipping Luke Littler’s rise to continue this month (Image: Getty)
has hit back at critics, with the legend tipping the teenage sensation to climb to the top of the world rankings in the near future.
Littler has enjoyed a stellar debut season on the Pro Tour and enters this month’s as one of the clear favourites.
The Nuke made it all the way to the final at Alexandra Palace last time around and Littler hasn’t been scared to ruffle the feathers of the darting world ever since.
But the 16-time world champion believes this is a good thing for the sport and has backed Littler to continue rising through the ranks.
When asked if anything or anybody can stop the Littler rise, Taylor told : “Not really.
“With what he is doing, some people agree with it, and some don’t in the way he chills out.
“Luke does his 10 or 15 minutes of practice before a game and then he is done. If it suits him then carry on because whatever he is doing is working for him.”
Littler would – unsurprisingly – become the youngest-ever King of the Palace, should he take the number one prize in north London at the World Championship.
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Luke Littler finished second at the last World Darts Championship (Image: Getty)
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Alongside reigning champion Luke Humphries, Littler is heavily fancied for the title, with Taylor expecting the Worlds to reveal where the 17-year-old’s game is truly at right now.
He continued: “The World Championships is going to tell us a lot.
“He definitely has the ability [to win it] and he’s got age on his side. Luke isn’t motivated by money – he just likes winning.
“So he will go into the World Championships, and £500,000 for the winner won’t even enter his head.”
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Depending on how things go at the World Championship, Littler could finish the tournament second in the PDC rankings, having shot all the way up to fourth following his Ally Pally debut last year.
And according to PDC chief Barry Hearn, Littler is on course to become the ‘Tiger Woods of darts’.
Speaking to last month, he said: “Luke Humphries is another fabulous player who is going to be around for years. Sport is a very brutal world. It is about winning and claiming the high ground. There will be envy around.
“Luke Littler is the next Tiger Woods for darts so they better get used to it, and the only way to compete is to get better.”