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Topics: Luke Littler, Darts
Josh Lawless
Luke Littler reveals he rejected a request from Stephen Bunting as the two gear up for a huge World Darts Championship showdown.
The two will meet in the semi-finals on Thursday after knocking off Nathan Aspinall and Peter Wright in their respective quarter-finals.
Both helped learn their craft the St Helens Darts Academy and have guaranteed a £100,000 fee for reaching the final four at Alexandra Palace.
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But while they are more than familiar with one another - even with the 22-year age gap, Littler has revealed he turned down Bunting's proposal prior to the event.
Bunting practiced with reigning world champion Luke Humphries and credited the time spent with 'Cool Hand' as helping him on this incredible run.
Littler, who lost to Humphries in a thrilling final last year, also had the same proposal but politely declined.
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Speaking in a press conference after he beat Aspinall, Littler said: "He practiced with Luke. I'm not going to say I ignored him but I just wanted to do my own practice at home."
Bunting was also asked about the possibility of extensive training with his upcoming opponent and revealed they could not make it happen. However, he had nothing but praise for the 17-year-old wonderkid for the way he is performing.
"No, he didn't ring me!" Bunting joked.
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"Luke is obviously set in his own ways. His dad did speak to me about practice and stuff but for one thing or another it didn't happen. I'm sure we'll practice in the coming future but it just didn't happen leading up to this.
"I've got a lot of respect for his family and for everything he's done for our sport. He's elevated it to another level.
"I thought he would have struggled with some of the big venues we play in and he's took to it like a duck to water and won the Premier League. [He's an] absolutely fantastic player."
The two have only met twice before - with both coming in the 2024 Players Championship. Littler won the first contest 8-7 before Bunting got a 7-6 in their second meeting a fortnight later.