Luke Littler will be back in action at Alexandra Palace on New Year's Day as he continues his defence of the World Darts Championship. The 18-year-old prodigy is aiming to join an elite group of players including Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson by retaining the title, with a £1million prize on offer.
Littler came through the opening three rounds without dropping a set, defeating Darius Labanauskas, David Davies and Mensur Suljovic. He faced a stern challenge from 17th seed Rob Cross in the fourth round, eventually winning 4-2. However, controversy followed after a visibly irritated Littler criticised the crowd for booing him during the match.
“You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money so thank you, thank you for my money, thank you for booing me! Come on!” Littler said. He later added: “There's no point whistling and booing because us the players, we're always the winner. But hopefully it's different on New Year's Day.”
Littler will face Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals during the evening session, which starts at 7pm GMT. Ratajski defeated Luke Woodhouse 4-2 to reach this stage. The winner will meet Ryan Searle or Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals.
In the other evening quarter-final, Luke Humphries takes on Gian van Veen, who beat Charlie Manby 4-1. The afternoon session features Ryan Searle vs Jonny Clayton and Gary Anderson vs Justin Hood. Live coverage is available on Sky Sports Darts and Sky Sports Main Event.
