LITTLER REVEALS RETIREMENT PLAN

LUKE LITTLER has outlined his retirement plan as he looks to continue his darts dominance for now.

World No.1 Littler admits his long-term future in the sport will depend on how long he maintains his hunger to win. 

The teenage sensation has already set his sights on completing a full set of major titles and now needs just the European Championship and World Cup to do so. 

Littler revealed once that drive disappears, he will have no hesitation in calling time on his career. 

He said: “That’s down to me. Whether I still want it in 10 or 15 years, whether I’m financially settled and have enough.

“The main thing is I have done everything I have wanted to do. The main goal is to win one of every major. 

“Then double and triple, like I have in some tournaments already. 

“Like Michael [van Gerwen] said, once the fire goes out of the belly that’s when we pack it in.”

‘The Nuke’ will face Gian van Veen on Night Nine of the Premier League in Manchester, with the Dutchman recently returning to action after recovering from kidney stones. 

Littler has backed his fellow young rival to bounce back strongly and believes he remains a real threat. 

He added: “He didn’t play the best last week but obviously it’s very hard for him, he said he has lost a lot of energy. 

“I think Gian will bounce back. It won’t surprise me if he averages 110 against me tomorrow night.”

Littler currently sits top of the table after securing his third nightly win in Berlin last week. 

But his arch-nemesis Luke Humphries is outside the play-off places at the halfway stage of the weekly roadshow. 

He continued: “It definitely surprises me because everyone goes on about Luke and Luke. 

“It’s very different for him but that is his worry. He’s obviously got to get on the practice board and make things right. 

“There’s still a long way to go and it wouldn’t surprise me if he came through to the top four and go to the O2.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.