German darts ace, 9, hailed as just as good as Luke Littler - 'This boy was something else!'

Luke Littler has had a handful of set-backs of late - the latest of which was a first round defeat to Rob Cross in the World Grand Prix of Darts - and Gary Anderson has claimed he has seen a nine-year-old on his level

Darts star Gary Anderson has claimed he has seen a nine-year-old German prodigy who is "just as good as Luke Littler", saying the youngster was "something else".

Luke "the Nuke" Littler has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the sport this year, shocking fans with his incredible rise to the World Darts Championship final aged just 16 at the start of 2024 before a string of competition wins - including victory in his first appearance in the Premier League Darts.

Now 17, Littler has had a handful of set-backs of late - the latest of which was a first round defeat to Rob Cross in the World Grand Prix of Darts this week, despite being one of the favourites for the tournament in Leicester.

He was also knocked out of the first round of the World Matchplay by Michael van Gerwen in July - and Anderson has now claimed he has seen a child darts prodigy who is on his level.

Ahead of his World Grand Prix Darts clash against Belgium's Mike De Decker on Thursday night, he said: "I reckon five or six weeks ago, months ago, I played with a young German lad, nine years old, just as good as Littler.

"Count just as good and honestly, not a word of English he spoke, but by god this boy was something else. Nine years old. Shouldn't be playing darts like that at nine years old. Maybe 29, but not nine! They're everywhere now.

"It's a very cheap game to play and you can do it at home. Dart board, set of darts, knock yourself out. It's one of the sports that you can have time at home and learn how to play it."

Anderson also claimed Luke Humphries - who beat Littler in the World Championship final in January, doesn't get enough credit as he embarked on an angry rant over "other players" being mentioned in the media more than him.

"He's not just a world champion. He's there for a reason. World Champion was added onto his CV. He's won so much more, and the boy gets looked over every time, which I think is a load of b*****s to be honest."

Humphries thanked Anderson for his support but insisted Littler was a "superstar" of darts who had taken the sport to new levels.

"I do feel like I've got a lot of credit. I don't feel like the media hasn't given me credit. I don't feel that way," he said.

"I just think when you've got a superstar [Littler], it's hard not to go with that. Luke has grown the sport to absolutely incredible levels and he's making the sport bigger for all of us, let's be honest."