The 16-year-old Englishman won his third round match against Canadian Matt Campbell 4-1 on Wednesday evening and is directly into the round of 16 on his debut. The junior world champion not only amazed fans at Alexandra Palace, but also opponents and experts. They compared him and his lightness with football superstar Lionel Messi at a young age.
Littler’s strong double rate stood out against Campbell. The teenager will face the winner of the game Jim Williams (Wales) against Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands) in the round of 16 on December 30th. The duel with five-time world champion Van Barneveld would be particularly special, as the veteran is 40 years older.
Michael van Gerwen made the next brilliant appearance. At 4-0, “Mighty Mike” gave his Dutch compatriot Richard Veenstra no chance at all. Van Gerwen, who won the tournament at Alexandra Palace in 2014, 2017 and 2019, used the first match dart on the double 5 straight away.
