Luke Littler believes he is close to matching the achievements of the sports' all-time greats and insists he can perform even better in Saturday's World Darts Championship final.
Littler joined Phil 'The Power' Taylor as the only players to reach the PDC World Championship final in each of their first three appearances, having continued his title defence by thrashing Ryan Searle 6-1 at Alexandra Palace.
The teenager's rapid rise to world No 1 and string of TV titles over the past two years has seen him draw comparisons with Taylor and Michael van Gerwen's past spells of dominance, with the 18-year-old acknowledging he is moving ever closer to being considered a great of the sport.
"In their primes they [Taylor and Michael van Gerwen] were just absolutely unbelievable. I was watching it as a kid and with what I've done, I can say I'm playing just as well," Littler said in his post-match press conference on Friday evening.
"Obviously with the titles, the averages, the amount of nine-darters on TV. Maybe if I get to tomorrow [and win], then I might be on that same level."
'The Nuke' is just the fourth player to reach three consecutive finals, joining Taylor, Dennis Priestley and Gary Anderson, with Littler now one victory away from becoming the first since Anderson to win back-to-back world titles.
"I've joined another list of short names - now obviously the only goal is to join a list of people going back-to-back world champions," Littler added. "It's very special to just keep adding to these lists that I don't know about, but now the main goal is to go back to back.
"Obviously I've got every right to think I can [go back to back], but I never, ever say I'm going to win it. I never say I'm going to win this and that."
Littler recovered from losing the opening set against Searle to fire a 105.35 average and 10 maximums during an impressive victory, seeing him through to the final having dropped just three sets throughout the entire tournament.
"I think I could have gone a bit better tonight," Littler said. "I obviously missed a few doubles, but I was very happy with the tops tonight.
"I think there's a bit more in the tank [against Gian van Veen]. Obviously, a near enough 105 tonight is very good. I think we can up it a little bit more tomorrow and get a bit better.
"I think now it'll be 19 games played here and 15 ton-plus averages, so that's not a bad stat at all. That's obviously why I'm winning games here - hopefully another ton-plus average tomorrow and a win. "
Littler holds a commanding advantage at the top of the world rankings after winning six of the eight PDC-ranked televised tournaments in 2025 - the World Championship, UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals.
A second world title would extend his lead over 2024 champion Luke Humphries, the only player to have beaten him on the Alexandra Palace stage, with a record first prize of £1m also up for grabs to the winner.
"Obviously it's a massive prize, but it's the trophy on the stage [that's important] - it's not the money," Littler insisted.
"Ever since the World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam of Darts, I just said I want to go back to back. Hopefully I can lift the trophy again and obviously think about the money after."
Your Site Darts' Wayne Mardle:
"It was a bit typical of what he [Littler] does! The scoreline is what a lot of people felt. I didn't expect Ryan Searle to play that poorly. He didn't get going. I know he won the first set but he was still way off Luke Littler's levels.
"I know it's ridiculous but Littler went for nine-darters rather than trying to win legs! Over that format, it was a good performance - hard to beat. Not just for Searle, but whoever he plays will have their work cut out in the final.
"You expect him to play like that tomorrow, or maybe even better. He doesn't fold and he wants back-to-back titles. He wants to rewrite his own history and this is part of it."
Who will win the World Darts Championship? Watch the final live on Saturday from 7.30pm on Your Site Darts. .
