Luke Littler made it clear that he was yet to start feeling the effects of burnout after cruising through the first round at the Australian Darts Masters. The 17-year-old was simply too strong for local favourite Rob Modra, breezing to a 6-2 victory without really getting out of second gear.

Modra could only keep up with Littler in the opening exchanges, with the score deadlocked at 2-2 after four legs. It was not long before Littler's quality began to shine through, breaking his opponent twice as he rattled off the next four legs to secure a dominant victory.

Over the last few months, concerns have been raised that Littler could be at risk of burnout. He is still getting used to the intense touring schedule and long hours of travelling around the world, but the Premier League champion appears to be coping just fine.

Quizzed on how he was finding things after his victory over Modra, Littler said: "I’m really enjoying playing in the World Series, visiting new places and playing in front of new crowds.

"I’m just glad to drag myself over the line tonight and hopefully I can improve tomorrow. Rob missed some crucial darts at double and it could have gone either way, but thankfully I took my chances."

Littler's manager, Martin Foulds, previously insisted that he was taking good care of the teenager in a bid to avoid wearing him out in spite of his relentless schedule and various media commitments.

Speaking after Littler's incredible run to the World Darts Championship final, Foulds said: "He’s pretty much in every TV event for the rest of the year without throwing another dart. There’s no off-season in darts. You’ve got to travel to these events.

"You don’t just time-warp and you’re in Belfast, Graz, Munich, Rotterdam. It’s unsustainable for any player to travel and play all of those events. When you’re playing in the Premier League especially, travelling can take its toll on anybody.

"He’s still a teenager, still 17. If he wasn’t playing darts he’d be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school, so there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can.

"The other day he had to come in, do some paperwork, some shirt signings. He’s sat in my meeting room and he’s got two phones on with two different streams of the Players Championship. He’s not at the darts but he’s still watching it. He just loves the game."