Junior darts star Luke Littler has won his first Players Championship of the season, hitting nine darts in his stunning victory on his debut.
Littler, 17, beat Michele Turetta with nine darts in the early rounds before battling it out to defeat Ryan Searle 8-7 in a thrilling final Defeated Ryan Searle 8-7 in the heart-warming final. Despite Sale’s better average score of 111.71 to 109.64, Littler won the decisive match at Wigan to claim £15,000 in prize money and his first PDC Professional Tour Ranking title.
“I know my skills are there, I know I can beat anybody, and I’m really happy to win,” said Littler, who reached the World Championship finals at the beginning of the year, earning him his first Pro Tour Opportunity Card.
“My manager and I know what I have to do to qualify for the World Match Play and World Grand Prix,” Littler added. “I want to try and qualify for everything, I just have to play my game. I’m taking it in stride. It takes a lot of pressure off me and now hopefully I can settle in and enjoy it.”
Littler will move into the top 30 on the PDC money list after winning the Bahrain Masters, where he hit a nine-dart, and reached the final of the Dutch Masters in January. The Warrington man has also impressed in the Premier League, reaching the semi-finals and final on his first two match nights in Cardiff and Berlin.
‘The Nuclear Bomb’ beat Jim Williams 6-1 and Luke Woodhouse 6-3 on Monday before his nine-dart victory over Italy’s Turretta 6-1. Littler then defeated Cameron Menzies 6-2, James Hurrell 6-3 in the quarter-finals, and Alan Souttar 7-6 in the semi-finals. Er, and the final against Searle, ranked 20th in the world.
Meanwhile, Gerwyn Price withdrew midway through his third round match with Brendan Dolan before complaining about the “absolutely deplorable conditions” at the event. Price dropped the match at Robin Park Tennis Center after trailing 4-2 in a best-of-11 match.
The former world champion later posted on Instagram: “The conditions are absolutely pathetic, having come all the way to Wigan to compete professionally and yet we have to compete in sub-amateur conditions.”
“Never give up a game and I will be out tomorrow too,” the Welshman added. “I’m frustrated because I had a really good game today and I rely a lot on these events.” The second Players Championship of the season will be played at the same venue on Tuesday.
A PDC spokesman said: “Gervin decided not to complete his match with Brendan Dolan and left the field immediately. “We understand he found the field cold.”
