Luke Littler has been warned that he will face plenty of 'rough weeks' as a professional darts player after a stunning emergence.
Former BDO World Champion Mark Webster claims the 17-year-old must get used to losing matches as his schedule increases.
Littler stormed to the World Darts Championship final in December and early January at the age of just 16.
He ultimately lost to world No 1 Luke Humphries but had already captured the imagination of millions of new fans of the sport.
Luke Littler has been warned he will face rough spells in darts
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Littler has since won the Bahrain Masters and a Players Championship, hitting a nine-darter in both tournaments.
He has also had a solid start to debut Premier League campaign, picking up five points in the opening three weeks.
Webster admits he was surprised by the emergence of Littler and how quickly he has taken to the professional game.
He said on The Darts Show Podcast: "Yeah of course I have [been surprised]. I knew he was good but wow what we've seen.
"He's just gone from strength to strength and he's enjoyed the ride. But the knock-on effect, no one could have imagined.
"He's the most famous darts player in the world at the minute and I've enjoyed watching him progress, I've enjoyed seeing how good he can be. He's a quick player as well so it makes him exciting."
However, Littler hasn't had it all his own way in the last couple of weeks.
He lost in his quarter-final on night three of the Premier League last Thursday and was unable to go far in both Players Championship events this week.
Webster says the teenager must prepare for some 'rough' times in the sport and says his schedule must be managed well.
He added: "Look, he's going to lose games, simple as that. He had a game with an 85 average [last week].
"He's played a lot of darts, them games are going to happen and they'll happen again. He will have some disappointing pro tours, he's going to play a lot of darts.
"He's young, he likes playing darts, he openly admits he doesn't practice a lot but he doesn't need to at the minute because he's ticking over, he's playing so much.
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Luke Littler has enjoyed a stunning rise in the world of darts
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"He's just got to manage his schedule, which is going to be hard, he's going to have some rough weeks, he'll have some rough tournaments.
"But he's been amazing and I hope people don't jump on him when he has them moments because they happen to every player."
Littler is aiming to earn enough ranking points on the ProTour in order to qualify for majors later this year.
Darts commentator and podcast co-host Dan Dawson admits the 17-year-old has answered every question he has had about him in the last couple of months.
Luke Littler has not had everything go his way in the last couple of weeks
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Dawson said to Webster: "You were saying straight after the World Championship that he will have no problem making the Matchplay and he will win loads of stuff.
"I thought there was a big question mark - he keeps on answering any doubts I have over him.
"But getting into the Matchplay is quite difficult because the European Tour is changing this year, they're changing the qualifying for it.
"So it's actually a lot harder for someone like Luke Littler to get to a European Tour."
