Luke Littler has promised to give his former coach money if he one day wins the World Darts Championship.
The teenager broke several records at Alexandra Palace before being eliminated in the final earlier this month.
Littler became the youngest player to win a match in the first round of the tournament.
However, he went on to win five more matches, including wins over former champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross.
Luke Littler promised his former coach a gift if he won the darts world championship.
P.A.
The 16-year-old has captured the nation’s hearts and his final match against Luke Humphries attracted a huge crowd.
However, the new world number one gave too much effort that night and won 7-4.
Littler has been playing darts since he was a toddler and credits Carl Holden from St Helens Darts Academy with playing a big role in his development.
He also promised to reward him if he won the Sid Waddell Trophy in the future.
Mr Littler told the BBC: “It’s all this man’s fault.
“We started from the beginning and this is where I am now.
“So hopefully, if we win the world championship, I’m going to pay him a little bit more.”
Littler will return to action at the Bahrain Masters on Thursday, facing Man Roc Leon in the opening match.
Before that, he visited Holden’s dart shop in St Helens and met Holden for the first time since his rise to stardom.
Holden revealed his delight in seeing the youngster flourish on the world stage.
He said: “It’s always fun to be around him.
“We’ve always given him good advice, but to get to the final and watch him was pretty special for everyone.”
Holden knew from an early age that Littler had a special talent.
He added: “Since he was 10 years old, we had to push him into the under-21 team because his ability was second to none.”
Littler is pleased with the impact it has had on Holden store sales.
He said, “It was crazy for me, but good for Carl.”
Before the final at Ally Pally, Holden admitted that Littler’s rules needed to be changed at the academy.
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He told Sky News: “There was a rule that you had to be over 15 to go on stage.
“But he broke all the rules. He was so good that we had to put him in the under-21 team before he turned 11.”
“He is a sensational player, but also a naturally gifted player.
“It’s not a big surprise to those who really know him, but to the rest of the world it’s a bit of a surprise that he achieved so much so quickly at 16 years old.
Luke Littler loses in World Darts Championship final
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“Honestly, I think this is just the beginning.”
“He’s not declining or plateauing. He’s still going up and getting better. That should be a big concern for some of the PDC guys he’s going to play against next year.”