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6 months ago
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Luke Littler has the potential to become the greatest darts player of all time but may decide to walk away from the sport in five years, believes rival Peter Wright.
The 17-year-old produced another top-drawer display as he swept past Joe Cullen 8-4 in the Austrian Open final this week. It was a second PDC European Tour title for 'The Nuke', who won the Belgian Open in March on what was his event debut.
Littler's impressive campaign follows on from his remarkable run to the World Championship final at the turn of the year.
He is five points clear at the top of the Premier League table and is within touching distance of qualifying for the play-off stage.
His remarkable rise has impressed many within the game, including Wright, who reckons the teenage has the potential to go down as the greatest player in the sport's history. But only if 'he doesn't get too bored'.
Luke Littler has taken the darts world by storm after bursting onto the scene at last year's World Championships
Littler beat Peter Wright 6-5 in their quarter-final meeting on night four in Newcastle in February
Wright has endured a disappointing campaign so far and currently sits rock bottom of the standings
'If he wants to do [become the best], he could.' The Scot told BBC. 'But we don’t know what his plan is.
'He could play for another five years and say "that’s it, I have earned enough".
'He has shaken up the sport. You see him in the back room and his routine is about five minutes practice.
'Maybe that's what we are all doing wrong - practising too much and wearing ourselves out.'
Wright, who is bottom of the standings, predicted that Littler would struggle during the four-month-long Premier League season. He admitted that the Warrington native has proven him wrong and revealed advice he had given Littler early on in the campaign.
'In the first or second week, I said to him "if you start losing, you can come to me for advice - because you will start losing"' Wright added. 'But he hasn’t yet.
'It's what we needed. Michael van Gerwen came onto the scene just after Phil Taylor and raised the bar, and Littler he is doing the same.
Littler claimed his second nightly victory after beating Rob Cross 6-2 in Liverpool last week
'It is good for everyone else, to make us get our fingers out and practice harder.'
The Premier League heads to Aberdeen on Thursday night, where Wright will be taking on Michael Smith in the quarter-final and Littler will be up against Nathan Aspinall.
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