Raymond van Barneveld follows Luke Littler’s lead as he reveals pre-match diet for Players Championship
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD has followed Luke Littler’s lead by revealing his pre-match diet for the Players Championship.
Littler stormed to victory at last weekend’s Grand Slam with an emphatic win over Martin Lukeman.
He made light work of his opponent in a 16-3 thrashing.
And the result, his first in a ranking TV final, saw the teen soar to world No5 in the world rankings.
Amazingly, Littler fuelled his way to success with an extremely unconventional diet.
Speaking after the final, beaten opponent Lukeman revealed his 17-year-old opponent scoffed “a Boost, a meal deal and a curry” before washing it down with “Squashies” sweets.
The carb-laden grub clearly did no harm to Littler’s performance, instead sending the ace on a barnstorming run that saw him hit TWELVE 180s.
And Littler’s diet is clearly catching on around the darting world, with one of the game’s most iconic players taking a leaf from his book.
Van Barneveld is a four-time World Championship winner who was Littler’s hero when the kid slinger was growing.
But now it’s the veteran who’s taking inspiration after showing off his amazing lunch basket ahead of the start of the Darts Players Championship.
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Posting a picture on social media, Van Barneveld revealed a treat-laden lunch featuring a classic BLT sandwich.
He topped off the Tesco meal deal with a packet of chicken Fridge Raiders.
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after his Grand Slam of Darts victory:
World Championship 2023 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
And Van Barneveld made sure to fully emulate Littler by also throwing in a chicken katsu curry, a Boost chocolate bar and a bag of Squashies sweets.
He then tagged Littler in the post, saying: “Ready for tomorrow. If you know, you know.”
Littler responded by declaring: “He knows the score.”
Van Barneveld will kick off his Players Championship quest this evening against Chris Landman.
While Littler faces a tough challenge in fellow Premier League star Rob Cross.
Elsewhere, Nathan Aspinall takes on Chris Dobey.
And defending champion Luke Humphries is hoping to make up for his early Grand Prix exit by beating Gabriel Clemens.
Inside Littler's massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has then gone on to win a host of PDC events and the Premier League title – which he claimed at the O2 Arena by beating world champion Luke Humphries in May.
He also finished his first season in the World Series as the No1 ranked player.
He has joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
But he is newly single after splitting from girlfriend Eloise Milburn following a 10-month relationship.
Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.