Littler seeks world number one spot this weekend

If Luke Littler, a teen, wins the European Championship, which begins on Thursday, he will become the first person to do so.

The 18-year-old is considering replacing Luke Humphries as the top-ranked player despite having only been playing professionally for a short while.

Littler, who is currently at the top of the rankings, wants to defend his PDC World Championship title at Alexandra Palace in December.

He would become the youngest PDC world number one after beating Michael van Gerwen, who did it at age 24 in 2014, in the European Championships in Germany, which wraps up on Sunday.

If Littler does not win the title in Dortmund but advances further than his rival, Littler could overtake Humphries.

If Humphries wins the £120,000 first prize, Humphries, the 2024 world champion, would increase his lead, which is currently at £52,500.

Although I don’t want to think too much about it, I might be the world’s number one before that World Championship.

“Just keep chucking away and applying the most pressure to Luke,” I say.

On Friday, Littler will face 58-year-old Raymond van Barneveld, who has five-time world champions.

In the first round, Humphries, 30, will face Pole Krzysztof Ratajski, who has the potential to meet Littler in the quarter-finals.

Before winning the Players Championship 32 event, Littler was knocked out by Beau Greaves in the World Youth Championship semi-finals the day after winning the Grand Prix.

After quitting his five-year management position with Martin Foulds of ZXF Sports Management, he has also announced a new management arrangement with Target Darts.

Littler will try to improve how he has fared recently in Germany, where he has been turned down by spectators for playing in hostile surroundings. When the pair lost to Germany at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt in June, he and Humphries received booes.