Littler, 16, continued his storming run at the PDC World Darts Championships last night.
He cruised past Canadian Matt Campbell 4-1 at Ally Pally, winning 14 out of the 20 legs to land his bumper £35,000 – the biggest earnings of his short career.
The Warrington teen then broke down in tears while hugging his mum in celebration.
But he regained his composure as he posed for a photo backstage with Donny van de Beek.
The Dutch midfielder, 26, was all smiles as he put his arm around the youngster and gave a thumbs up to the camera while Littler looked ready to head off for his kebab in his coat with his backpack on.
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Littler posted the snap on his Instagram story and wrote: “@donnyvdbeek legend.”
The £40million footballer shared the post to his 2.8m followers and added the handshake emoji.
He also uploaded a video from his seat at the darts showing compatriot Michael van Gerwen celebrating his victory.
Littler, meanwhile, shared a photo on his own social media of his celebration alongside Marcus Rashford’s.
Like the Red Devils and England forward, the darts prodigy put his index finger to his temple as he booked his place in the last 16.
Van de Beek has just two minutes of Premier League action under his belt this season, coming on late in the 1-0 home defeat against Crystal Palace in September.
He remained an unused sub for the seventh game in a row during the Boxing Day comeback victory against Aston Villa.
And the former Ajax star – who worked under Erik ten Hag at his boyhood club – now looks destined to leave Old Trafford when the transfer market reopens next week.
He has reportedly already completed his medical with German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt and looks destined to join them on loan.
However, United look willing to take a huge £30.5m hit on the player with suggestions of a £9.5m option for Frankfurt to make the deal permanent in the summer.