Luke Littler has ‘surprised’ former PDC World Darts Championship quarter-finalist Glen Durrant with his behaviour up on stage and in the practice room. Two of Littler’s finest performances have been reserved for ‘The Iceman’ Gerwyn Price, who doesn’t seem to intimidate the 17-year-old in the slightest.
Littler got the better of Price en route to a stunning victory at the Bahrain Darts Masters last month, before conquering the Welshman for a second time in the space of eight days on his run to the Dutch Darts Masters final.
As a player with significant stage presence, Price is a tough opponent for even the world’s top competitors. And it is Littler’s body language while facing the 2021 world champion that made a big impression on Durrant.
“He’s generational,” the Middlesbrough-born veteran told the Northern Echo. “It’s the small things I see that may surprise you, the fact he’s not giving Gerwyn Price eye contact.
“When I played Price, I was intimidated. Luke doesn’t seem to get that intimidation. It’s those small things. When you go into a players area you can win or lose games, apparently Luke just sits there and plays FIFA. He’s not trying to be liked, he’s just being himself. He’s generational. You’re witnessing something very, very special.”
The positive results keep on coming for Littler, who has more than held his own across two weeks of Premier League action with a win over Rob Cross and two victories over his Ally Pally foe Luke Humphries.
While Durrant claims that facing Price comes with its mental and psychological hurdles, ‘The Iceman’ himself has explained how coming up against Littler presents the very same issues. “It is added pressure when you’re playing him,” he told Sky Sports.
“He plays well every single time and I think he’s brilliant for darts. He’s a good youngster, he’s down to earth, and I think at this moment in time it’s probably what darts needed. It’s a little kick up the backside and will get more people a little more interested and motivated to watch – I think it’s fantastic.
“I just love the way he is around the practice room. He doesn’t really engage with the players, keeps himself to himself and just gets up there and plays darts and plays darts well. He’s brilliant, but I will beat him soon.”
Price will get the opportunity to do just that when he comes up against Littler on Night 3 of the Premier League in Glasgow, with the pair set to do battle for a spot in the evening’s semi-finals.
