Nathan Aspinall believes Luke Littler's form has seen the top players gain extra motivation. Littler has burst onto the scene in unprecedented circumstances and has become a regular tournament winner on the PDC tour since reaching the World Darts Championship final in January. His victory in the Premier League format saw many start to question whether we could be about to see a new era of domination comparable to Phil Taylor's success.Best porn XXX. But some talented players including Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Aspinall are on his case, and 'The Asp' believes his arrival has brought the sport to new heights. "I wouldn't say trying to impress, I think they just want to smash him," Aspinall said to talkSPORT.com. "I think he is winning everything so we have to get to his level or it is just going to keep happening. "I think it has given us a kick up the backside, it was the same guys all the time and now Luke is winning the Premier League and everything. "We are like, 'he's 17 mate, we need to put him back in his place'. I think that's what a lot of the players think. "Or at least I know one of them that thinks of that. I think it has helped bring the standard up too." Littler has already had huge success both on the oche and outside of competition, where he is generating huge revenue and interest from his career. The sport is growing to incredible levels, with the last World Championship final watched by a record 3.71 million viewers this year. It will continue to be a positive impact for the sport as more alternative tournaments grow, including the upcoming World Matchplay major. Aspinall is the defending champion at Winter Gardens, but will be aware of the threat of the likes of Littler, who could become the favourite to lift the trophy if he beats Van Gerwen in his opening match. And the 32-year-old is confident he has what it takes to fend off talent elsewhere to retain his crown. He continued: "It is about emotion, not getting too ahead of myself and not breaking it down too much. "Just breaking the game down is what I do, you play best of 35 legs so I just give myself little targets. "I need to be on my game, but I can't wait to get back on that stage with amazing memories from last year. "I think to walk out as a defending champion with Mr Brightside blaring, it is going to be amazing." This service is provided on talkSPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy.