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‘The last time I was here, he passed away’ – Emotional Luke Littler pays tribute to darts icon after Premier League win
Whizkid still has a picture on his phone of the meaningful night when he was just 11
LUKE LITTLER admits he could be the new Eric Bristow after a poignant win in Liverpool.
The teen sensation won his third Premier League night at the M&S Bank Arena to go five points clear at the top of the table.
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But ‘The Nuke’, 17, revealed that his last visit to the venue was the Premier League night that ‘Crafty Cockney’ Bristow passed away six years ago.
Littler took victory on Thursday night with a cocky swagger on what would have been Bristow’s 67th birthday and was likened to the legendary five-times world champ.
He revealed: “The last time I was here was the night Eric passed away. I was only 11.
“I was up in the stands with my friend. There’s a picture on my phone.
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“It’s nice to win. The last time I was here he passed away, today it’s his birthday and I’ve won.
“The other day it was the memories on Facebook I was here, now it’s his birthday.”
Littler was likened to ‘Brissy’ by Sky commentator Wayne Mardle as he wound-up the Liverpool fans in the crowd and played up on stage to the deafening boos.
On whether that helped his motivation, he added: “Obviously it helped me tonight, I knew what was coming my way and I enjoyed it.
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“I watched a few of my games back and Wayne has always said Eric would have loved to watch me play.”
On becoming the new Bristow, Littler smiled and added: “We’ll have to see in years to come!”
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The Warrington wonderkid had been warned by pals Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith to “calm down” his social media digs at Liverpool after their defeats at Manchester United and against Atalanta.
But as the 8,000 fans served up a deafening din of boos for his walk-on, Littler responded with a 2-0 hand signal after Liverpool’s defeat at Everton the previous night.
He added: “I was enjoying it. They were booing me and I was just telling them what happened the night before.
“I was expecting the worst then if it was anything better, then it was good.
“The crowd was a bit bad but I didn’t help myself much. I kept myself composed and won all my games.
“It’s just banter. But I knew what I got myself into. I knew what was going to happen tonight. But I’m just happy to win.
“If you give it you have to take it. And I’m sure if I did lose tonight that would all be on social media but then I’ve just got to get on with the next one.
“It’s just banter and as a United fan you like to see Liverpool as rivals lose games.
“We’re not doing too well this season and they’re enjoying that.
“Obviously I enjoyed the FA Cup win and them getting knocked out of the Europa League. It’s just all banter.
“There’s United fans and I’ve got fans into darts. Maybe the two can connect and support me.”
Littler has now qualified for the finals night at the O2 in May on his debut and red-hot favourite as he tops the league table.
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On reaching the finals night, he added: “It means the world from watching it as a little kid, watching everyone qualify through it every week. I can say to myself I’m in the top four. I’m happy to be quite clear at the top of the table.
“All I wanted was a bit of banter and get myself a few more points to add on to what I’ve already got. I ended up leaving with more points than what I should have.”