Teen sensation Luke Littler is back in action against Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship on New Year’s Day. The pair, who are not only close colleagues and regularly travel to tournaments together, are also represented by the same management company and hail from towns just 40 minutes apart.
But they will put their friendship aside as they fight for a place in the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace. It’s been five years since ‘The Asp’ last made it to the last four of the World Darts Championship, while 17-year-old Littler famously reached the final in his debut last year.
Sparks are set to fly as eight in-form stars suit up and the business end of the tournament gets underway. And we’ve got all the details you need to catch ‘The Nuke’ in action once more.
The day gets underway with Chris Dobey facing Gerwyn Price at 12.40pm local time, followed by Michael van Gerwen vs Callan Rydz. However, Littler won’t take to the stage until the evening session, which begins with Peter Wright vs Stephen Bunting at 7.10pm.
The Nuke, who narrowly defeated Ryan Joyce 4-3 on Monday, is not expected to make his entrance until the last quarter-final of the day at approximately 8.40pm. But this start time could be delayed if the match between Wright and Bunting takes longer than anticipated.
UK fans can catch Littler’s match on Sky Sports Darts from 7pm, either directly through the broadcaster or via NOW TV. Sky Sports Main Event will also air the evening session from 7.30pm, following coverage of the Championship clash between Hull City and Middlesbrough.
A semi-final run at The Masters in February was a 2024 highlight for Aspinall, while he also made it the fifth round of the UK Open. It was all the way back in 2019 that the Stockport native took the top prize and his maiden major in Minehead, though he’s since added the World Matchplay crown to his collection in 2023.
The Asp will have more insight into Littler’s game than most, given their close proximity with each other at tournaments. He has already overcome Leonard Gates, Andrew Gilding and Ricardo Pietreczko to reach this stage of the competition, defeating the latter in straight sets in the last-16.
The player exuded confidence following his triumph over Pietreczko, declaring: “You underestimate me, all of you,” after securing a dominant 4-0 victory in the last 16. “I never get any respect, I’m not going to go all Joe Cullen here [and storm out of the press conference]. But I always get written off.
“Nobody ever talks about me. I’m a two-time major champion, a fantastic darts player. I come back fighting and keep proving people wrong time and time again. It’s up to me to go up on that stage and prove you lot wrong, who write me off.”
Despite some shaky moments in his victory against Joyce, Littler is still the hot 1/7 favourite to beat Aspinall. Meanwhile, his stablemate is a lofty 9/2 to make a return to the World Darts Championship semi-finals.
Punters looking for greater earnings may be interested in backing Littler to win, hit the most maximums and record the highest checkout at odds of 8/11. A bet on Aspinall to achieve the same match treble, meanwhile, returns a healthy-looking 50/1.
