He had to wait nine weeks, but in Belfast Luke Littler finally got it in the Premier League. The Nuke defeated world champion Luke Humphries, defending champion Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall for his first overall win.
Vincent Van GenechtenDarts follower
Today at 07:41
Littler has had several top matches so far in the prestigious competition with eight world top players, but has failed to reach the semi-finals no less than seven times in a row. And last week he went straight out. However, the teen sensation took advantage of some time off, went for steak and chips in the Northern Irish capital on Wednesday night and proceeded to make history (again).
It started with a fourth win in a row this season against Humphries. The reigning world champion had won the past three evenings, but suffered a new defeat against the darts phenomenon he beat in the World Cup final. The score was 6-5 for Littler.
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On to a new clash with Van Gerwen. The Dutchman is not in his best period, but did throw an average of almost 106 to beat Michael Smith in the quarter-finals. However, things went less well for the three-time world champion against Littler, who lost 6-3.
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Finally a first Premier League final for The Nuke, with buddy Aspinall as opponent. Littler started with a great 136 finish, then pulled off a bizarre 125 finish via the bull and averaged 99 on his way to a 6-4 win. “It’s about time,” Littler laughed afterwards on his social media, after looking at his watch after his winning throw.
Along the way, Littler also showed off a new style. He took noticeably more time with his throw. “I tried to calm down because of this,” said The Nuke afterwards. “Especially not wanting to go too fast when my first arrow lands where it was supposed to land. So more relaxed throwing.”
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The score after nine evenings:
© PDC