Raymond van Barneveld hilariously reveals what he was doing when he was 16 with darts legend desperate for Littler clash
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD has hilariously revealed what he was doing when he was 16 due to Luke Littler taking the World Darts Championship by storm.
Littler, 16, is through to the tournament's last 16 after beating Matt Campbell.
He'll play the winner of van Barneveld's clash with Jim Williams in a mega-clash to secure a spot in the tournament's quarter-final.
Van Barneveld spoke glowingly of Littler ahead of their potential showdown, telling the PDC: "I enjoy that boy. Really formidable.
"He's 16 years old. When I was 16, I was still playing with Playmobil! I have huge respect for that little guy and I can't wait to play against him."
But he was careful not to presume that he would be playing Littler at Ally Pally this year, insisting he has to be clinical against Williams and not get distracted by the potential tie.
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He continued: "I don't underestimate Jim Williams at all and I don't think it's respectful to Jim Williams if we only talk about Luke Littler.
"Of course I know that I will possibly get Littler, but Jim is a fantastic player so I don't want to look beyond that yet."
Barney revealed that he has been practising religiously ahead of the Williams clash, making use of the Netherlands Darts Team's facilities in London.
He said: "140's and 180's are going in during practice.
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"Faith is not 100 percent, faith is 1,000 percent. I'm standing here doing things.... The word 'losing' hasn't occurred to me in the last few weeks.
"That's really been a long time. I'm not going to say I'm going to lift that cup, that's just not appropriate, but I feel completely insane.
"A Van Barneveld in form, where things are right in his head, can go far here. Whether they're called Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith or whatever. That doesn't matter to me then. I play against the board, not against the opponents."