Luke Littler has been warned by Raymond van Barneveld that shorter matches can throw up surprise results. And the Dutchman has told the teenager that he isn’t scared to play against him.
Littler will take on Van Barneveld in the first round of the European Championship in Dortmund tonight. The first player to win six legs will progress to the second round, with Littler aiming to replace arch-rival Luke Humphries at the top of the PDC world rankings by the end of the weekend. But the first-round match is no foregone conclusion, despite the fact Van Barneveld is 40 years older than Littler.
“Of course, it’s a short format,” Van Barneveld told The Sun ahead of the match. “In all honesty, if you play best of 19 legs or best of 21, normally the better player will win.
“We all saw this years ago with Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and myself. So in the best of 11, it can go either way.
“I’m playing good. I’m focused. I’m not scared of him. I know he’s an amazing player. I’m just going to prepare myself like any other game and see what happens.
“I like Luke. He’s a fantastic and amazing player and he plays fast. I like that. But I’m not the youngest anymore. I’m 58 years old. I’m playing against an 18-year-old with full energy.
“I’m like an old dog. With a younger dog, they want to play, they’re excited. But an older dog is like, ‘Guys, leave me alone.’ It’s a bit harder for me at the moment.
“You don’t have the 100 per cent focus that I used to have in all these years because you grow older. Your muscles go different. I have diabetes. You have many dips and concentration problems.
“It’s not like the old Ray anymore. I’m not playing in quarters and semis. I have to be realistic.”
Littler burst onto the darts scene just under two years ago when he reached the final of the World Championship at Alexandra Palace before losing to Humphries.
The teenager overcame Van Barneveld along the way as he thrashed the veteran 4-1 in the fourth round.
And discussing that match, Van Barneveld added: “Well first of all I was flabbergasted. I was watching a couple of games earlier of him of course and I was thinking, ‘Oh wow, I’m going to meet this guy now, but I’m one of his heroes.’”
