LITTLER WANTED TO COLLECT MBE IN TRACKIES

LUKE LITTLER says he wanted to wear a TRACKSUIT while receiving his MBE from Prince William.

The teenage superstar met the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle last week after being honoured for his incredible rise in the sport.

But the Warrington ace admitted he would happily have swapped the suit for a more comfortable look.

Littler even refused to wear smart shoes and instead donned trainers to keep things casual for the royal occasion.

He told talkSPORT: “I wanted to go in trackies to be fair!

“Hey, I get away with it. Even at Cheltenham I got away with it. Come on.

“I am not wearing them flickers, no way! I am not having it like!”

The Nuke now turns his attention back to the oche as he targets a THIRD consecutive Premier League final at London’s O2 Arena.

Littler takes on Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals on Finals Night as he aims to claim back the title he won in 2024.

Victory would see Littler become just the fourth player in history to win the tournament more than once, joining Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen.

He added: “The most important thing for myself is just making the final, making three consecutive finals would mean everything to me.

“But most importantly, it’s about winning that first semi-final and hopefully getting across the line in the final.

“You’ve just got to come to the O2 and win that game. Then in the final, obviously I’ll be on first, so you get that extra-long break.

“I wouldn’t want to be playing in the second semi-final because you barely get a break.”

“So hopefully if I can get past Gezzy, I’ll have a break, sit down, watch the other game and have an extra practice. But yeah, just really focus, I guess.”

Littler has won his last eight meetings against Price but insists that counts for nothing.

He continued: “I don’t think it’ll be in the back of his mind. Tomorrow is different, it’s the semi-final, and we’re done with the league phase now.

“We’ve just got to throw everything at each other and it’s all or nothing.

“The main goal is to get that trophy back, but I’ve got to get past Gezzy Price first.

“Like I said, as long as I play well, I’ll be happy tomorrow. If I don’t play well, I’m not going to be happy. But I’m just looking forward to another great game with Gezzy.

The world No1 and Luke Humphries could face each other in the event showpiece for a third consecutive year, but Littler fears people are starting to get bored of it.

He said: “I think everyone’s probably bored of me and Luke meeting in finals.

“But we’re one and two, and if we both play well all the time then we’re going to meet in finals. But like I said, I’m fully focused on the semi-final.

“I’m sure he’ll be focused on his semi-final and I’ll be focused on mine. If we happen to meet, then I’m sure it’ll be another great game.

“But like Jon just said, they’re two tough games for the Welsh lads, but they’re also two tough games for us English lads.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.