‘When he gets the hump…’ – Phil Taylor names surprising darts star who could be a ‘nightmare’ for Luke Littler

DARTS legend Phil Taylor has named the surprising star who could be a “nightmare” for Luke Littler this year.

The teen sensation is flying high after winning the World Darts Championship in January.

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And Littler has started the new season in confident form after winning Night 2 of the Premier League — which he won in his debut campaign.

The competition sees Littler rub shoulders with the best in the business, including Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting.

Meanwhile, countless other tournaments in 2025 will also have aces like Dimitri van den Bergh and Damon Heta pushing Littler all the way.

But there’s one surprise name who could be the biggest threat of all, according to darts legend Taylor.

He reckons Littler is up there with the very best right now.

Yet Taylor fears a resurgent Peter Wright could rock the boat in a big way.

‘Snakebite’ endured an awful 2024, making four first-round exits in ranked televised PDC events.

And Wright also finished bottom of the Premier League with just two wins from 18 matches, resulting in his exclusion from this year’s format.

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However, he looked close to his regular ways with a win over defending champ Humphries at the World Darts World Championship before exiting in the quarters.

And Taylor fears Wright will only get better this year as he now has something major to prove.

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Wright had a shocking 2024 but picked things up at the World Darts Championship[/caption]

Taylor said: “I don’t think Wright wanted me to retire because he always wanted someone to aim at.

“Peter loves if somebody is playing better, like Luke Littler or Humphries. That will inspire Peter and also Van Gerwen.

“I predict he’s going to be a nightmare for these players this year. When he gets the hump and gets on that practice board, he’s brilliant.

“I think the two Luke’s are going to have a tough year this year.”

Despite his warning, Taylor admits Littler and Humphries are the only players keeping him invested in the sport right now.

He added: “It’s made me watch darts again. I’d gone off darts a little bit.

“I was watching the same players I played with for 10 years, so I went off it a little bit.

“Then the Luke’s have come through. It’s made it exciting for me. Then you’ve got a few new faces who are playing really well from different countries.”