
‘I am sure it is one of the best feelings you'll ever have' – Luke Littler excited ahead of World Cup debut
The 18-year-old will team up in Frankfurt with Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in the Premier League final at the O2 Arena last month.
Ireland will be represented by Limerick's William O'Connor and Keane Barry from County Meath and have been drawn in a group with China and Gibraltar.
Humphries guided England to a record-breaking fifth World Cup success with Michael Smith last year and a sixth crown is being plotted at Eissporthalle ahead of the tournament starting on Thursday.
'I've not spoke to anyone about putting the shirt on for your country, but I am sure it is one of the best feelings you'll ever have. I'm sure me and Luke are ready for it,' Littler reflected.
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'Obviously Luke won it last year with Michael Smith, I'm sure he'll want to go back-to-back. For myself, I want to win it on debut just as much as Luke wants to retain it.'
If Littler is to enjoy a maiden World Cup of Darts triumph, he will have to improve his recent form in Germany.
The start of a hex can be charted back to September when Littler collapsed from a position of strength to lose to Peter Wright in the German Darts Championship final.
Boos occurred on that occasion and Littler struggled on Night Nine of the Premier League in Berlin at the start of April before three weeks later he fell short of German Grand Prix success in Munich.
Littler added: 'The only bad one last year was Hildesheim against Peter Wright. I think I was 5-2 up, lost 8-5 and obviously as soon as you're beating the home favourite, as everyone likes to call it, that is when they don't start to like you.
'I wouldn't say it's upset me but I would say I was obviously a bit angry. I wouldn't say (during) Premier League. The biggest one is Germany, but I did what Gerwyn Price always does, go on Instagram, have a bit of a moan and take it down half an hour later.'
World Cup delight with England – with the holders set to start their campaign in the second round on Saturday – will help Littler forget about his past tricky experiences in Germany and may change his mind on whether darts should be entered into the Olympics.
'Yeah, there was a lot of talk last year on the Olympics and for myself, I don't have a clue,' Littler admitted.
'Would it be good? Would it be bad? I'm not really an Olympics person, so I won't sit there and watch it.
'I don't know if it would be good or bad for darts. I am not sure if it would fit in as much.'
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