LUKE Littler has got his wish.
The Warrington 16-year-old will be playing one of his heroes, Raymond van Barneveld, in the last 16 of the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.
Dutch superstar 'Barney' booked his clash with 'The Nuke' thanks to a 4-1 demolition of Jim Williams in Friday's afternoon session.
Former Padgate Academy student Littler said after his own 4-1 hammering of Canadian No1 Matt Campbell on Wednesday night that it would be a dream match-up for him.
And Barney cannot wait to square up with arguably the most talked about teenager in British sport right now.
Van Barneveld told Sky Sports: “I will love to play Luke Littler. When I was 16 I was playing with Lego and Playmobile, we didn’t have the internet or whatever.
“This guy is amazing, and I am looking forward so much to that game. He is a quality player and I can’t wait to meet him tomorrow night.”
The contest will take place on Saturday night, with the scheduled start time being 8.45pm but could be a littler earlier if the first game of the session finishes quickly.
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It will be the biggest match of Littler's blossoming career so far, facing the 56-year-old legend of the sport with a PDC world ranking of 29.
Littler was only born 21 days after the Dutchman won the most recent of his five world titles in 2007.
Van Barneveld was not required to find top gear against Williams, a former BDO runner-up who finished with a higher average but managed to hit only seven of his 28 doubles.
Having nudged into a 3-1 lead and moved one leg from victory at 2-0, Van Barneveld missed five match darts and allowed the Welshman a glimmer of hope as he pulled back to level in the set.
But backed by the sizeable Ally Pally crowd, Van Barneveld nailed double eight for the match to book his place in the last 16 for the first time since 2018.
He added: “I was lucky to win this afternoon’s game. You have to be clinical and if you’re 2-0 up (in legs) you have to hit that double 16, and I let him back in at 2-2.
“The crowd were helping me but in the end you’re the one who throws the darts. I was in control but I felt a little bit nervous and I’m happy to go through.”
Littler, the world youth champion, is the youngest player to reach the last 16 after reeling off three impressive victories, including averaging over 106 - a debutant record - in his first round win over Christian Kist.
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