Gary Anderson has slammed the media over the treatment of 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler as he launched a passionate defence.
Anderson powered through to the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship as he beat Croatia's Boris Krcmar 4-1 on Friday.
After his big win, the Scot immediately turned his attention to Littler, who has burst onto the scene with three massive wins at Ally Pally.
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Littler, who won the World Youth Championship last month, destroyed Christian Kist in round one before beating reigning UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
He then knocked out Matt Campbell to set up a blockbuster meeting against Raymond van Barneveld, having already earned his biggest payday.
The youngster has been thrusted under the spotlight as he enjoys a stunning debut at the tournament.
But Anderson, who has won two world titles, has warned the media over the way they treat Littler, telling them to let him play darts. Check it out below:
"I'm going to say this now, we had another youngster called Josh Rock that all you press and everything else have absolutely destroyed," he said.
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"So if it ever goes t**s up with Luke, then give yourselves a pat on the back, because that's the way it's going. Let the boy play darts."
The 53-year-old added: "I've been downstairs today, he's had cameras, zoom calls, Sky meetings. Let the boy play darts.
"He's had a great tournament, he's done well, but what happens if it goes Pete Tong now? You boys have ruined it, haven't you?
"So let the boy play darts, he's 16-years-old, playing well, and just like Josh Rock, a fantastic player, but you've knocked him back by two or three years."
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'The Flying Scotsman' was then asked how Littler should be covered considering his form to which he replied: "You have no idea how many young dart players we see coming through the system with people saying 'this is going to be the next best thing'.
"Pressure goes on them, all goes Pete Tong, where are they now? We've seen it in the past.
"You go through over darts in the last ten years, how many youngsters have come through that you have all said, 'This is going to be the next big thing'. Where are they?"
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Anderson's rant comes after Littler was forced to apologise for posing with The Sun newspaper.
On X, he wrote: "Today a photograph of me holding up a newspaper has been published in the media.
"The media attention I have been getting is very new to me and I didn't fully understand at the time what I was being asked to do."
He added: "In no way do I endorse that newspaper or the headline which accompanied the article and I sincerely apologise for any offence this has caused.
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"I'm focusing now on my next match with Barney and would like to thank everyone for their amazing support."
Topics: Darts
Nasir Jabbar