Luke Littler has spent the month being star-struck by his darts heroes, but he’s now met a football ace who may even look up to him.
The 16-year-old, who has just become the youngest-ever player to reach a PDC World Darts Championship quarter-final, spent his New Years Eve at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Travelling across north London from Alexandra Palace, Littler was spotted in a VIP box ahead of Spurs vs Bournemouth, and looking at the injury list it’s easy to see why.
The self-confessed Manchester United fan was joined by James Maddison, who is regularly seen at the darts during his time off.
The England midfielder regularly plays at home and during international duty, where Three Lions stars often hold mini-tournaments.
The 27-year-old even marks his goals with a dart-throwing celebration, and may be able to get some tips off of his new mate.
Littler spoke to talkSPORT after his 4-1 win over Raymond van Barneveld and said: «If I can play like that every game, every leg, every set then I should be okay.
“But I have a day off tomorrow, go watch the Spurs game and then go back on New Year's Day.
»Tomorrow I'll chill out and then probably after the Spurs game go for a practice in the hotel room for a bit to loosen my arm up and then it's back to the stage."
The youngster is back on in action on Monday against 28 seed Brendan Dolan, fighting for a place in the final-four.
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