Luke Littler has praised Justin Hood after the world no.86 shocked sixth-seed Danny Noppert to secure his spot in the third round of the PDC World Championship.

Hood, nicknamed 'Happy Feet', demolished Welshman Nick Kenny 3-0 in his opening match last week before delivering another eye-catching display against Noppert on Tuesday night.

The 32-year-old debutant raced into a commanding 2-0 advantage at Alexandra Palace, posting an average of over 102 across both sets while landing 54 per cent of his doubles and three maximum 180s. Despite Noppert battling back to claim the following two sets and force a decider at 2-2, Hood kept his composure to see off the Dutch ace.

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Hood sealed victory in a sudden-death leg, nailing a 78 checkout to arrange a third round clash with world No.62 Ryan Meikle after the Christmas break.

Reacting to Hood's thrilling triumph, Littler - who swept aside David Davies 3-0 on Sunday - sent a message to the Glastonbury arrowsmith as he continues to impress on his maiden Worlds appearance.

Sharing a photo of Hood being interviewed by Sky Sports after beating Noppert, Littler wrote: "What a man [penguin emoji, foot step emoji, love heart eyes emoji]."

Throughout the contest, Hood posted an average of 103.01, struck an impressive 11 maximums and converted 42.86 per cent of his doubles.

Reflecting on his victory, Hood said: "It was a good game and I knew it would be because Danny is a class player. I don't worry about the pressure, I just throw the darts and if it's good enough, it's good enough. Tonight it was."

Danny Noppert became the 17th seed to be knocked out of the World Championship before Christmas, following in the footsteps of Daryl Gurney and Peter Wright on Tuesday. However, Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen and Josh Rock managed to avoid a similar fate in the evening session.

Meanwhile, Jake Littler is preparing for his third-round clash against Mensur Suljovic on Saturday night. Suljovic, currently ranked 60th on the planet, faced allegations of "cheating" after his 3-1 victory over Joe Cullen on Sunday.

Cullen was left fuming by Suljovic's slow, ritualistic approach on stage at Ally Pally.

The 'Rockstar' took to social media after the match to vent his frustration: "The old guard will say it's part of the game but word it how you will - it's CHEATING! That's not darts," the Bradford player wrote.

Suljovic responded to the accusations post-match, saying: "I never ever do this as a provocation. I do it only for my game. Sorry Joe, I never do this - love you man."

When asked about Cullen's comments, Littler defended Suljovic after his win against Davies on Sunday. "No, it's not cheating. That's just how he plays," Littler said.

"I took a bit of notice of the match. Obviously Joe's felt like he's slowed it down. It's not cheating. We all know he flicks his flight quite a few times before he throws. He's doing it until he feels settled."

There's now a three-day hiatus before the World Championship resumes post-Christmas. The action kicks off again with Wesley Plaisier squaring off against Krzysztof Ratajski on Saturday afternoon.