Luke Littler is eyeing up a sensational record, aiming for an unprecedented fifth nine-darter of the year, as he gears up for his upcoming clash with Ryan Joyce at the Paddy Power PDC World Championship.

Set to battle it out at Alexandra Palace tomorrow (Monday) for a spot in the quarter-finals, Littler is also fixated on pocketing the £180,000 bonus offered by the title sponsor for a perfect leg.

Currently sharing the record with darts heavyweights Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen, 17-year-old Littler confessed: "It would mean the world. I think the fans, when I do play Ryan, will know that if he gets this, he breaks the record."

The prodigy went further: "If I don’t, then we will have to try again next year. But I know the record has been on the cards for many months. Hopefully it can come in my last match of 2024."

Despite the hype around nine-darters after Christian Kist and Damon Heta's tournament successes, both unfortunately faced defeat post their achievements.

On this, Littler couldn't help but smirk: "I watched the Kist one with my mates. I was heading down to London when Damo pinged the double 12, but those two have lost so I don’t know if I want to hit one!"

Luke Woodhouse could not help but celebrate when watching his opponent Heta hit the nine-darter and receiving plaudits for his sportsmanship.

Speaking to Sky Sports about his rival's success: "Me and Damon are good friends, we hang out and practice together a lot. So I know he was gutted when he missed the double 12 in his first game. So it was great that he hit the nine-darter.

"The crowd went wild. I couldn't not celebrate with him. I'm over the moon. It's not just me, it's my family, my wife, my boy so it's good, it's really good."