Luke Littler beats Michael van Gerwen to win his first senior PDC event. The 16-year-old made a nine-darter in the quarterfinals, becoming the youngest player to land a televised nine-darter. Luke Littler and Premier League Darts return to Sky Sports on Thursday 1 February
Luke Littler beat Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in the Bahrain Darts Masters final, hitting a historic nine-darter early in the tournament to claim his first senior PDC title.
Littler, 16, calmly saw off the challenge from three-time world champion Van Gerwen, showing the calmness we’ve come to expect from him.
The first seven legs were all slow, but Littler became the aggressor and, despite pressure from MVG, took the lead with an 11-dart leg.
Littler then broke Van Gerwen’s throw to take a 5-3 advantage, but the Dutchman broke straight back and took the lead for 105 points.
Van Gerwen continued to fight back against Littler, but the teenager found a break in his throw on D10 and took a leg off before locking on top at 58 to seal a historic victory.
After his win, Littler admitted that the competition was his first time throwing a dart since losing to Luke Humphries in the World Darts Championship final earlier this month.
“No one will believe me, but I haven’t thrown a dart since the world finals.” [earlier this month]’, Littler told ITV Sport.
“Yesterday was my first proper practice and it all paid off.
“I’m really happy to win, and of course my opponent is Michael. He’s still one of the best players, so I’m really happy to win on my debut.”
“This week has been unbelievable. There are eight teams in the Premier League and eight teams in the Asian qualifiers, so I’m happy to win.”
“I didn’t have any specific goals for this year. I never thought I would be able to win this trophy this week.
“It was nice to be here again with great people and a great crowd on our side, but I’m just happy.
“I don’t have any goals for this year. I just have to see what my darts do.”
Van Gerwen admitted it was a tough loss against Littler, but warned against letting Littler get any “bigger” than necessary as there is already so much hype.
“It was a great tournament. Of course it’s disappointing, but that’s how sport is. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose,” Van Gerwen said.
“It’s simple, when Michael doesn’t win, it’s never going to be a good week. [Littler] We also had some great tournaments. Everyone says he’s a rookie, but everyone knows what he’s capable of.
“I wasn’t able to do what I was doing in the early games.” [in the final]. All you can do is punish yourself for it. We must definitely improve for the next match. I’ll get him, don’t worry. ”
Littler makes history with nine darts against Aspinall
Prior to the victory, Littler hit an incredible opening leg nine-darter in his quarterfinal victory over defending World Match Play Champion Nathan Aspinall.
Littler hit 180s twice, recorded a 141 checkout and a double-12 finish, winning the leg in just three visits and becoming the youngest player to hit a televised nine-darter.
It was also the second nine-darter ever thrown in the World Series, the first being by 16-time world champion Phil Taylor.
He therefore set up a match against former world champion Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals, and although it looked like a close match, each continued to pitch under pressure.
The pivotal moment came when Littler broke a throw in the sixth leg to take the 4-2 leg, take the maximum and reel in the big fish.
Littler then held with class again with a 103 checkout, then finished with an 89 in the bullseye for a break in throwing, showing off one foot.
Price overturned one of the slow breaks with a stunning 146 finish to tie it at 6-3, but Littler kept his cool and broke back straight to secure his spot in the final at the top.
“Ritter is the real deal and great for darts.”
Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge said:
“It’s completely unbelievable. He turned 17 in two days and hit nine darters. He beat Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price and in the final Michael van Gerwen. Littlemania I’m still enthusiastic.”
“We’ll see him in the Premier League in Cardiff on February 1st. If there was any doubt about getting this player in the Premier League, it’s gone now. He’s the real deal.”
“When his name was announced, some said he wasn’t ready, but he is.
“He’s a sensational player. He didn’t come out of nowhere, he was hitting nine darters in junior tournaments when he was 13 and 14.
“This is an incredible achievement, a great story and just great things for darts.
Webster: Littler is going to win a lot of titles.
Sky Sports Darts” Mark Webster believes it was a “deserved” win for Littler and we are seeing the beginning of what will be a bright career for such an “ambitious” youngster.
“he [Littler] I deserved to win the title,” Webster said. ITV Sports.
“Michael van Gerwen will be disappointed and underperform in the final. Littler could have won by a bigger margin in the end, but it will be another great weekend for him. I just took it all in on the road.”
“he [Van Gerwen] He didn’t look calm in the finals, with a flat performance, he was “out of it” and Littler was the better player.
“I don’t think anything will affect him.” [Littler]. He is stubborn for a 16 year old. He is ambitious, has already won a senior title and has many more to come. ”
“If you look at the way he plays, I think he will win a lot of titles.”
What else happened on the night of the final in Bahrain?
Van Gerwen defeated Rob Cross 6-4 in the quarter-finals and Michael Smith 6-5 on a final leg decision in the semi-finals to book a spot in the final against Littler.
Cross barely missed a step against the Green Machine, hitting all his doubles, but Van Gerwen proved too strong, averaging over 107.
It was a story of missed opportunities for Smith as he failed to pounce on MVG’s missed double, but the Dutchman struck at a crucial moment and took 110 for the deciding leg throw against Littler.
Luke Humphries’ 20-game winning streak ended with Price defeating the world champion 6-4 in the quarter-finals, Smith defeating Peter Wright 6-1, and Snakebite unable to stop throwing to claim the spoils. It stopped. throughout the entire contest.
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