‘I can’t see it’ – Luke Littler, 17, fears he will never equal historic darts record despite being at start of career

LUKE LITTLER has batted away talk of him beating one of darts' most astonishing records.

The Nuke, 17, is gearing up for the world championships next month as he looks to go one step further than in January when his fairytale Ally Pally debut saw him lose to Luke Humphries in the final.

Littler's rapid ascent to the top of the sport has seen many wonder whether he could shatter all records.

That includes Phil Taylor's astonishing feat of 16 world titles.

However, Littler does not feel Taylor's remarkable benchmark is a realistic goal.

Speaking to , he said: "Yeah, people are going on. Been talking about Phil Taylor's record of 16 world titles, and that is a lot to beat.

"So if I'm in the game for long enough, maybe. But I can't see myself winning 16."

He continued: "I want to win every major title once – tick everything off. So, the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts are already ticked off in my first year.

"If you look back at darts a few years back, it was just looking at number one and number two. Now you can have a 100-ranked player beating the world's best.

"It's just that darts is so tough. Even when I lose a game, it's all over, and it's just like, he's a professional, just like me.

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"All year round, it's been tough. When you're playing well, you do back yourself to win most of the time, but like footballers, you have setbacks.

"With darts, there's just so much going on, so if you lose a game, you can always bounce back."

Littler comes into the world championships - which start on December 15 - in fine form.

He won the Grand Slam of Darts and followed that up with a run to the Players Championship Finals where he lost to Humphries.

The teenage is the bookies' favourite to claim the Ally Pally Crown, followed by reigning champion Humphries, two-time winner Gary Anderson and three-time winner Michael van Gerwen.