Luke Littler has had the Midas touch since shining at the World Championship six months ago.
He reached the final on debut and has lifted six titles since then including the Premier League.
The teenager has fired in a record four nine-darters so far this year and has racked up multiple averages in excess of 110 but has stagnated in the last few weeks.
Littler disappointed in the Pro Tour events leading up to the World Matchplay and was dumped out in Blackpool in the opening round – albeit to Michael van Gerwen.
‘The Nuke’ has offered an explanation as to why his form has dipped, and four players have surpassed him in the PDC’s form guide.
Luke Littler sinks to fifth in form table
Averages have long been an effective guide to measure a player’s performance levels over a sustained period.
It’s not an exact science but offers valuable insight into how a person is playing relative to their peers.
PDC Stats Analyst Christopher Kempf has compiled a list of the most in-form players over the last 200 legs, and the teenager has dropped several places.
It is no surprise to see World Matchplay Champion Luke Humphries top the metric, but a surprise entrant is Cameron Menzies in third.
The Scotsman narrowly missed out on the Winter Gardens to James Wade, but his heavy hitting has caused many problems for the game’s elite over the last few months.
Though Littler isn’t operating at peak levels at the moment, he does lead the tally of 171-180 visits, proving his scoring power is as frightening as ever.
No panic for Littler
The bar for Littler is higher than most, owing to his stunning achievements since Alexandra Palace.
Peaks and troughs happen in any sport and this slight dip in form should not sound any alarm bells.
The youngster captured the Polish Darts Masters only a few weeks ago and will look to add to his World Series tally as he heads to Australia and New Zealand next month.
Littler has already amassed six titles in 2024 and expect that figure to hit double digits before the year is out.