Ryan Joyce believes he can derail Luke Littler’s bid for World Darts Championship glory and has warned the teenager he must up his game to beat him at the Alexandra Palace on Monday.
Littler followed his 3-1 victory over Ryan Meikle in his tournament opener by beating Ian White in the third round on Saturday evening, where the fourth seed survived set darts in three of the first four sets before closing out a 4-1 win.
The 17-year-old produced a 97.84 average but struggled on the outer ring, missing 24 of 37 attempts at double on his way to the last 16, with Littler admitting after his victory that he will need to improve his finishing during the later rounds.
Joyce set up a fourth-round meeting with Littler after defeating Ryan Searle in a final-set decider earlier in the day, with the 39-year-old confident he can cause the pre-tournament favourite problems in his final match of 2024.
“I haven’t got the scoring power consistently to compete with Luke Littler, but I can hit the doubles,” Joyce told reporters after his victory, where he converted 62 per cent of double attempts and guaranteed that he will end the year inside the world’s top 16.
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Luke Littler narrowly missed out on a historic nine-darter during his match against Ryan Meikle in the second round
“I’ll go into the game thinking I can win the match, but I’ll also feel like I’m the underdog to win. We’ve seen in sport so many times that the favourite doesn’t always win, otherwise it would be boring to watch wouldn’t it.
“If Luke Littler plays at his absolute top level, he can beat anybody won’t he and he will brush me aside comfortably.
“If he just has a couple of off sets, he’ll find that it will be two sets all after four. I’m not going to miss many doubles against him so he’s going to have to play well I think – just not his absolute best!”
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Luke Littler comments on his struggles to finish double 10 and double 20 in his match against Ian White.
Littler wary of Joyce test
Littler crashed in a dozen maximums and wrapped up a set in just 39 darts during his victory over White, where he overcame a sluggish start and moved a step closer to a potential semi-final showdown with defending champion Luke Humphries.
“I know I can do a lot better, but in set-play, it’s all about winning,” insisted Littler. “I was happy with my performance scoring-wise.
“My doubles need to be a bit better, but as soon as I won that first set tonight, I felt settled.
“I’m expecting the same old Ryan [Joyce] – hitting his doubles first or second time, but I just need to take the opportunities when I can.”
Webster: Joyce will back himself to beat Littler
Littler’s average was the highest recorded in the three matches on Saturday evening but less than his efforts in the win over Meikle in the previous round, with former Lakeside champion Mark Webster believing Joyce will feel he can cause an upset.
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Watch as Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries take on the Sky Sports face mash challenge.
“For Littler, he knows tougher tests await,” Webster told Sky Sports. “Joyce is a really good finisher and if those opportunities come to Ryan, he will take them, so Littler’s got to be aware of that.
“I’m not saying he’s not enjoying himself now, but there’s a target on his back because he’s the tournament favourite. Yes, he’s not the top seed, but he’s the favourite and there’s expectancy.
“Players want to have that opportunity to play him. Ryan Meikle gave it a good go, Ian White did and Ryan’s the next one in line. He’ll be looking forward to the challenge and if you can be the man to beat him then you can cause a real stir here.
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Ryan Joyce fought off a Ryan Searle comeback as he won 4-3 to go through to round four. Joyce also hit an impressive 113 checkout and there was a hiccup from Searle as he missed a single 20 to leave tops, all in the final set.
“Joyce is a brilliant finisher, so if he can stay in touch in the scoring element, he finished at 62 per cent today [Saturday]. We saw in the Grand Prix, getting to semi-finals with a double in, double out element, that it suits him.
“He’ll back himself Ryan, if doesn’t matter if anybody else doesn’t. As long as he believes he can win that game, that’s what’s key.”
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