LUKE LITTLER is a whisker away from becoming world No.1 for the first time.
The teen sensation battered Luke Humphries in Sunday’s World Grand Prix final to slash the buffer ‘Cool Hand’ enjoyed at the top of the PDC Order of Merit.
4
Littler is breathing down Humphries’ neckCredit: Getty
4
Cool Hand’s lead at the top has been slashedCredit: Getty
Darts world rankings are determined by the amount of prize money a player has won in ranking tournaments over a rolling two-year period.
Littler was 16 years old and barely even on the radar two years ago.
He has racked up virtually all of his staggering £1,665,500 haul since bursting onto the scene at the 2024 World Darts Championship.
And that doesn’t even include the cash he’s banked at non-ranking events.
Humphries has been untouchable at the top of the standings for nigh on two years.
But the hiding he got from Littler in Leicester has cut the gap to just over £70,000.
Humphries will need a heroic effort to remain on top as he’s defending maximum winnings at the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals next month.
Josh Rock and Danny Noppert are two of the other big winners from the World Grand Prix.
Rock, 24, is up from ninth to eighth in the world, having started the year 16th.
And Noppert has jumped from 13th to 10th after losing to Humphries in the semi-finals.
Luke Littler reveals he’s going solo after shock split from manager ahead of World Grand Prix
Damon Heta, Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright have all slipped further down the pecking order.
And there is more misery for 2023 world champion Michael Smith – who didn’t even qualify for the World Grand Prix – as he has dropped two places to 27th.
4
Josh Rock is up to eighth in the worldCredit: Getty
Luke Littler will return to defend his titleCredit: Reuters
2
Luke Humphries will be looking to regain the title at Ally PallyCredit: PA
World Darts Championship 2025 tickets and prices
StubHub are offering tickets for sale for every session of the tournament, at the time of writing.
The cheapest tickets available are currently priced at £145 per person for the evening session on Thursday, December 18.
There are tickets on the site available at a range of prices.
Tickets for the final, for example, are priced from £380 at the time of writing – these are for seats on the outskirts rather than a table in the middle.
The cheapest table seats for the final start at £940 each.
For those looking for hospitality tickets, Seat Unique is offering packages – although is asking for those interested to register their interest.
There is no pricing available at the time of writing, with details expected soon.
Are tickets for the World Darts Championship still on sale?
Yes, tickets are available, but fans will have to buy from secondary ticketing sites.
PDCTV annual members were able to have first dibs at tickets during a pre-sale.
That took place on August 4 and August 5, 2025.
There was then the chance for others to put their name into a free-to-enter ticket ballot.
Registrations for the ballot opened on August 6 and then closed on August 15.
Tickets are now available on third-party ticketing sites, although the PDC have previously warned fans about purchasing tickets this way.
Cool Hand has lost just five sets on his way to tonight’s final.
Luke Humphries 2-0 Nathan Aspinall (first round)
Luke Humphries 3-1 Krzysztof Ratajski (second round)
Luke Humphries 3-1 Cameron Menzies (quarter-final)
Luke Humphries 5-3 Danny Noppert (semi-final)
Elite company
Luke Humphries has joined an exclusive club by making tonight’s final.
The world No1 has reached the final of the World Grand Prix three times in a row!
Only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have done that before.
Humphries beat Gerwyn Price two years ago and lost to Mike De Decker 12 months ago.
Head-to-head record
Luke Littler edges this match-up after 24 meetings.
‘I get too relaxed’
Luke Humphries came through a tense battle with Danny Noppert in the semi-final last night.
Cool Hand raced into the lead before the Dutchman staged a comeback.
Humphries held him off and has explained how he managed to re-find his range after a mid-match blip.
He said: “I just splashed my face with a bit of water and said, I’ve got to fire myself up.
“Sometimes the body gets a little bit too relaxed and I’m kind of just pushing the darts. I said to myself, ‘Now or never — you really have to show Danny you still want to win this.’
“Because if I come out 4–3 down thinking, ‘I’ve still got two sets, I can afford to lose this one,’ that’s the wrong mindset.
“I didn’t want to lose that set.
“I came out a bit more aggressive — come on, get my head on, get the energy level up and it seemed to work.”
Out for revenge
The last time Luke Littler played Luke Humphries, the teenage star won the New Zealand Masters final 8-4 in August.
But that was not enough to count as revenge for Littler as he brought up the 11-8 Premier League final defeat he suffered to Humphries in May.
He said: “That’s the last big one we met in, apart from New Zealand.
“But on the major stage, I owe him one tomorrow night.
“When it’s Luke Humphries in the opposite corner in a final, it feels even bigger.
“We’ve both beaten each other in major finals.
“But this one’s very different — double start.
“Whoever gets off first tomorrow probably wins.”
‘Biggest clash in darts’
We are nearly ready for the latest chapter of the two Luke rivalry.
And Littler knows it is the final everyone hoped for at the beginning of the week, saying: “I think me and Luke is the biggest game in darts.
“Whether it’s a final, a first round, or a semi-final, we bring the best out of each other.
“Another Luke vs Luke final doesn’t get boring.”
The Nuke’s comment comes after he labelled his match with last year’s champ Mike De Decker as “boring” due to the Belgian not playing his best.
Darts is heading to Saudi Arabia for the first time on January 19 and 20 next year.
When the snooker headed to the kingdom, entertainment chief Turki Alalshikh added a golden ball to the table to open up the possibility of a 167 super-maximum and a £1milion reward for players that achieve it.
Littler is hoping a new lucrative concept is added to darts like rewarding a nine-darter with a massive cheque.
Littler a ‘different animal’
Luke Littler’s semi-final opponent Jonny Clayton knows how big his task is tonight.
The Welshman said: “An honest answer is you have to be scared of him.
“The two Lukes, they’re both pushing the bar and the rest of us are following.
“Gezzy’s been putting in some awesome performances, and we’re all trying to keep up.
“But Luke [Littler] is the hottest player on the planet right now.
“He’s class, the world can see it. He’s a different animal.
“But we can all play darts. My first game on stage against Luke, I beat him. So you never know.”
Van Gerwen the inspiration
Danny Noppert is trying to emulate his compatriot Michael van Gerwen.
Ahead of his semi-final against Luke Humphries tonight, the world No13 revealed his admiration for MVG.
He said: “I try to be as good as Michael. But of course he’s the best player there’s ever been. I try to be like him, but not yet.”
Van Gerwen suffered a shock defeat to Dirk van Duijvenbode is round one.
De Decker responds to ‘boring’ claim
Luke Littler was not challenged in his round two victory over Mike De Decker and claimed the clash was “boring”.
The world champion said: “Mike didn’t play his best there and I just had to play along.
“It was a bit boring at times, obviously I expected something from the reigning champion, but he just couldn’t get those doubles to get him going on the scoring most of the time.
De Decker has now responded, saying: “That he found the match ‘boring’? Well, if that’s what he thinks… Good for him. That’s his opinion.”
Littler ‘definitely beatable’
Defending champion Mike De Decker was knocked out in the second round 3-0 by Luke Littler.
The Belgian struggled to land doubles at the start and it allowed The Nuke to cruise to a routine win.
Reflecting on his performance, De Decker said: “I was incredibly disappointed. Look at my average. After the second set, I saw on the screen that I’d thrown 8 out of 42 doubles or something.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against. That way, you’ll have problems against anyone.
“It was just a bad match for me. He wasn’t great either, but it just didn’t fly.
“Those doubles just wouldn’t work. When you do that with this format it becomes difficult.
De Decker went on to add: “So Littler was definitely beatable. Everyone’s always beatable, sometimes it’s just harder than others.”
Rollercoaster of emotions
Luke Littler felt every emotion during last night’s quarter-final clash with Gerwyn Price.
THE world’s best will step up to the oche once again for this year’s Swiss Darts Trophy – and the action is underway!
Martin Schindler pulled off an incredible comeback against Ryan Searle to win the 2024 crown.
1
Martin Schindler won the Swiss Darts Trophy in 2024
However, the German returns to Basel as a 16th seed, meaning he could face a potential banana skin in his opening encounter.
World No1 Luke Humphries is also competing in Basel and will be determined to bounce back from his shock quarter-final defeat in last weekend’s Hungarian Darts Trophy.
But teen sensation Luke Littler will not be participating in the 13th stop on the PDC European Tour.
When is the Swiss Darts Trophy 2025?
The Swiss Darts Trophy 2025 got underway on Friday, September 26.
It then concludes two days later – Sunday, September 28.
Afternoon sessions take place from 12pm BST while the evening sessions start at 6pm BST.
St.Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland is the chosen venue for the penultimate PDC European Tour event.
What TV channel is the Swiss Darts Trophy 2025 on and can I live stream it?
Swiss Darts Trophy 2025 schedule and results
Friday, September 26 First round Afternoon sessions from 12pm
Connor Scutt 1-6 Callan Rydz
Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Dalibor Smolik
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-0 Owen Bates
Andrew Gilding 3-6 Cor Dekker
Ryan Joyce 6-0 Rocco Fulciniti
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Lukas Wenig
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 Oskar Lukasiak
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Martin Lukeman
Evening sessions from 6pm
Chris Landman 6-3 Denis Schnetzer
Wessel Nijman 5-6 Ritchie Edhouse
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Ansh Sood
Richard Veenstra 6-5 Niko Springer
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Stefan Bellmont
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Jitse van der Wal
Daryl Gurney 1-6 William O’Connor
Nathan Aspinall 6-0 Andreas Toft Jorgensen
Saturday, September 27 Second round Afternoon sessions from 12pm
LUKE LITTLER has learned to block out the haters and hecklers, saying: I just let my darts do the talking.
The Nuke is heading to Auckland for part two of his Down Under jaunt this summer.
5
Luke Littler was unhappy with members of the Wollongong crowd during the finalCredit: ITV
5
The Nuke reacted to someone who had called out, claiming he was “rubbish”Credit: ITV
5
Littler and girlfriend Faith enjoyed their time in Australia and visited a zooCredit: Instagram @lukethenukelittler
The 18-year-old banked £30,000 on Saturday when he beat Belgian thrower Mike De Decker 8-4 in the final of the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongong.
It was his fourth success on the World Series of Darts circuit and was equally impressive given that he had not practised ahead of this 21,000-mile round trip.
Every time he failed to hit a treble during the evening’s three games, a group of locals shouted out “rubbish, rubbish” and someone even bizarrely said he was “washed”.
This comment perplexed Littler but it is believed to mean he is supposed to be washed-up and not as good as he used to – which is clearly not the case.
The more he wins, the more he will be targeted by irate punters but even for someone so young, he has learned to rise above it all.
There have been times in Germany where he has been singled out and he was asked if he had gotten used to dealing with a portion of the crowd being on his back.
Waiting for the match to start? 📺 Keep up the live action with bet365 live casino! 👇
Littler, in his second season as a pro, said: “For myself, the first time I hear it, I will obviously do something, but then I will let it go by.
“Just do my darts. Let the darts do the talking.
“No-one has taught me how to deal with much. I just get on with things. You are on stage alone.
“No-one else is with you. No-one else is going to help you unless it’s a few guys from the crowd. Yeah, you have just got to get on with it.”
Littler – who is on the two-week trip with new girlfriend Faith – is in good form and in a good mood, telling his rivals that his confidence is sky high.
No-one else is with you. No-one else is going to help you unless it’s a few guys from the crowd. Yeah, you have just got to get on with it.
Luke Littler on dealing hecklers while on the stage
An early-morning flight to Kiwi country means shifting his body clock by another two hours – he has already said he struggles with jetlag on the other side of the world.
Last year, the Warrington teen was defeated in a last-leg decider 7-6 by world No.1 Luke Humphries in the semi-finals at the Globox Arena in Hamilton.
Littler, the newly-crowned World Matchplay champion, says he has a policy of practising hard for the big TV events but for the smaller ones, he will simply rock up and do his thing.
5
The Nuke lifted the World Matchplay in Blackpool last monthCredit: Getty
5
Before he turned 18, Littler lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy at Ally PallyCredit: Getty
The world No.2 said: “I’m very happy. My debut last year in Australia didn’t go to plan. But second time lucky.
“I want to be winning things. We look to New Zealand next week.
“I will enjoy this. But then it’s an early flight again. An extra two hours ahead – so I will definitely be needing some sleep.
“It’s only my second time coming to New Zealand. I didn’t do much last year.
“We can make the most of four to five days and then once it comes to Friday that is when the darts starts again.
“I’m feeling confident. This is the most confident I have felt in a very long time.
“For myself I know how much I will practise, how much I have been doing.
“But yeah I practised really well for the World Matchplay and won it. I think I will practise for the big ones.
“As a player, you are on stage for a long time. You practise leading up to it and when you are on stage, you gain that confidence.
“You get warmer and you find those four or five gears.”
Josh Rock burst into tears on stage after Northern Ireland won a dramatic World Cup last leg decider.
His team partner Daryl Gurney hit double eight to wrap up an epic 10-9 win over Wales in the final in Frankfurt last night (Sunday).
Rock, 24, and Gurney then dropped to their knees on stage in scenes of incredible emotion as they picked up their first world titles and an £80,000 jackpot.
He said: “When we said we are paired together we’ll win it. We didn’t expect to do it, but we did it.
“As a team we were fantastic. We fought hard all the way through.”
Credit: Getty
Debut fizzles out for Dutchman
Gian van Veen had a great tournament personally but could not take his team all the way to the trophy.
The disappointment will be raw right now but when he reflects on it, there is a lot he can learn from it.
It should give him the confidence that if he is on his game, he cann beat anyone on the darts circuit right now.
Credit: Getty
Making a country proud
Northern Ireland have produced plenty of good darts players over the years but winning a World Cup requires something very different.
They came into this tournament as fourth seeds, full of talent, but unable to produce it enough with the regularity needed to win titles.
Both players put the comments of the doubters to one side and produced the best darts of their careers in Germany.
This victory is something special and this pair will be partying long into the night, something they have surely earned this weekend.
ENGLAND will be represented by a double dose of Luke this week as Littler and Humphries pair up at the World Cup of Darts 2025 – and the action is unfolding RIGHT NOW!
The men’s England football team failed to bring it home during the Euro 2024, but Luke Humphries and Michael Smith made the nation proud in last year’s World Cup of Darts.
2
Michael Smith (L) and Luke Humphries (R) fired England to an iconic World Cup of Darts winCredit: PDC
2
Humphries and Littler represented England this yearCredit: PA
A combination of composure and superb throwing saw Cool Hand and Bully Boy beat their Austrian opponents 10-6 in an epic final.
And it was a result that wrote England’s name in the history books as they now hold the record for the most amount of wins in the iconic competition with five.
Sadly for Smith, his world ranking positioning meant he missed out on the chance to retain back-to-back titles.
And England could have done with him after Luke Littler and Humphries got dumped out by Germany in their opening match.
Read more World Cup of Darts
Welsh stars Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price are now firm favourites to lift the title.
When is the World Cup of Darts 2025?
The World Cup of Darts 2025 got underway on Thursday, June 12.
It will run over four days, concluding on Sunday, June 15.
Eissporthalle am Ratsweg in Frankfurt, Germany is the chosen venue for this iconic tournament.
Group stage matches begin at 6pm BST and then the latter stage fixtures are split in afternoon sessions (11am/12pm) and evening sessions (6pm).
The quarter-finals, semi-final and final will ALL be held on Sunday, June 15.
What TV channel is the World Cup of Darts 2025 on and can it be live streamed?
The World Cup of Darts 2025 will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports.
Subscription members can stream the entire four-day event on NOW TV.
Alternatively, SunSport will be running a live blog providing leg-by-leg coverage of the World Cup of Darts 2025.
What is the World Cup of Darts 2025 format?
There will be 40 different nations taking part at this year’s World Cup of Darts.
The top four seeded nations go straight into the second round, while the remaining 36 nations are split into 12 groups of three.
Each group winner will progress through to the second round, and then the tournament will be knockout from then on.
And each group stage game sees teams compete in a best-of-seven legs match, before the second round, quarter-finals and semi-finals are all best of 15 legs.
The World Cup final will then be best of 19 legs.
All matches are played in the doubles format, with teammates taking turns at the oche.
World Cup of Darts 2025 groups
Group A
Netherlands (Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen)
Italy (Michele Turetta and Massimo Dalla Rosa)
Hungary (Gyorgy Jehirszki and Gergely Lakatos)
Group B
Belgium (Mike de Decker and Dimitri van den Bergh)
Latvia (Madars Razma and Valters Melderis)
Philippines (Lourence Ilagan and Paolo Nebrida)
Group C
Germany (Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko)
Portugal (Jose de Sousa and Bruno Nascimento)
Singapore (Paul Lim and Phuay Wei Tan)
Group D
Republic of Ireland (William O’Connor and Keane Barry)
Gibraltar (Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt)
China (Xiaochen Zong and Lihao Wen)
Group E
Poland (Krzysztof Ratajski and Radek Szaganski)
South Africa (Cameron Carolissen and Devon Petersen)
Norway (Cor Dekker and Kent Joran Sivertsen)
Group F
Canada (Matt Campbell and Jim Long)
Malaysia (Tengku Shah and Tan Jenn Ming)
Denmark (Denjamin Drue Reus and Andreas Hyllgaardhus)
Group G
Sweden (Jeffrey de Graaf and Oskar Lukasiak)
Lithuania (Darius Labanauskas and Mindaugas Barauskas)
France (Thibault Tricole and Jacques Labre)
Group H
Austria (Mensur Suljovic and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez)
Spain (Daniel Zapata and Ricardo Fernandez)
Australia (Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock)
Group I
United States (Danny Lauby and Jules van Dongen)
Hong Kong (Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee)
Bahrain (Sadeq Mohamed and Hasan Bucheeri)
Group J
Czech Republic (Karel Sedlacek and Petr Krivka)
India (Nitin Kumar and Mohan Goel)
Chinese Taipei (Teng Lieh Pupo and An-Sheng Lu)
Group K
Croatia (Pero Ljubic and Boris Krcmar)
Japan (Ryusei Azemoto and Tomoya Goto)
Switzerland (Stefan Bellmont and Alex Fehlmann)
Group L
Finland (Teemu Harju and Marko Kantele)
New Zealand (Haupai Puha and Mark Cleaver)
Argentina (Jesus Salate and Victor Guillin)
World Cup of Darts 2025 schedule and results
Thursday June 12 From 6pm BST Group Stage – Opening Matches
Sweden 4-1 Lithuania
Czech Republic 4-2 Chinese Taipei
Croatia 3-4 Japan
Ireland 4-2 Gibraltar
Canada 1-4 Malaysia
USA 1-4 Hong Kong
Poland 4-3 South Africa
Belgium 4-1 Latvia
Netherlands 4-0 Italy
Germany 4-2 Portugal
Austria 4-1 Spain
Finland 0-4 New Zealand
Friday June 13 Afternoon Session From 11am BST Group Stage – Second Matches
Lithuania 4-3 France
Chinese Taipei 4-2 India
Croatia 4-3 Switzerland
Gibraltar 4-2 China
Canada 1-4 Denmark
USA 4-1 Bahrain
South Africa 4-1 Norway
Latvia 2-4 Philippines
Italy 4-0 Hungary
Portugal 2-4 Singapore
Spain 0-4 Australia
Finland 1-4 Argentina
Evening Session From 6pm BST Group Stage – Final Matches
Sweden 3-4 France
Czech Republic 4-2 India
Japan 1-4 Switzerland
Ireland 2-4 China
Malaysia 4-1 Denmark
Hong Kong 4-0 Bahrain
Poland 2-4 Norway
Belgium 3-4 Philippines
Netherlands 4-0 Hungary
Germany 4-0 Singapore
Austria 1-4 Australia
New Zealand 3-4 Argentina
Saturday June 14 Afternoon Session From 12pm BST Second Round
The world number one said: “I’m extremely honoured and delighted to be receiving an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to darts.
“To be recognised by the King for what I have achieved, and also for my contribution to playing in and promoting the sport that I love, is something that I never thought possible, but I’m very grateful that it has become a reality.
“I have enjoyed the highest of highs in darts in becoming world number one and winning the biggest tournaments that the game has to offer, but to be awarded the MBE will rank alongside any of those achievements.
“I have to give a massive thanks to my fiancée Kayley, and my family, particularly my mum and dad, who have been a constant source of support over the years and helped make me the person that I am today.
“To say that I’m looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace is an understatement. To receive the MBE there with my family with me is something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
“I’ll continue to be a good ambassador for darts, and help pave the way for future generations to be involved and succeed in a sport that has given so much to me.”
Littler reacts to MBE
The 18-year-old said: “This is an amazing and unexpected honour but one which I am very grateful for.
“To receive a recognition like this is something I had never thought would be possible, and it is a proud moment.
“It’s unbelievable what I’ve done for my sport; I’m happy, my family is happy and I can’t wait to receive it.
“Congratulations to Luke Humphries on receiving an MBE too – he’s a fantastic ambassador for darts, and although he’s a rival, I can’t wait to partner him in the World Cup this weekend.”
ICYMI
From Alexandra Palace to the Royal Palaces, what an extraordinary ride it has been for Luke Littler.
Two years ago, he was just a normal, kebab-eating kid from Warrington who dreamt of one day making money from darts.
What has happened since is one of the most sensational stories in British sport.
A shock World Championship final run in 2024, turning pro, taking the oche by storm, global popularity, the 2025 world title at just 17 and more than £2million in prize money and sponsorship.
Littler has even had novelty kebabs named in his honour.
And now he will go, by royal appointment, to collect an MBE as part of the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Draw reaction
Good job England and Scotland were both seeded…
They’ve been handed a couple of huge ties against Germany and Netherlands!
It’s all set up for a sensational day of action tomorrow!
Humphries reacts
On his MBE, Humphries said: “I’m extremely honoured and delighted to be receiving an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to darts.
“To be recognised by the King for what I have achieved, and also for my contribution to playing in and promoting the sport that I love, is something that I never thought possible, but I’m very grateful that it has become a reality.
“I have enjoyed the highest of highs in darts in becoming world number one and winning the biggest tournaments that the game has to offer, but to be awarded the MBE will rank alongside any of those achievements.
“I have to give a massive thanks to my fiancée Kayley, and my family, particularly my mum and dad, who have been a constant source of support over the years and helped make me the person that I am today.
“To say that I’m looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace is an understatement. To receive the MBE there with my family with me is something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
“I’ll continue to be a good ambassador for darts, and help pave the way for future generations to be involved and succeed in a sport that has given so much to me.”
He won £275,000 for winning the title to add to three nightly wins of £30k in total and picking up gold darts worth £30k for a nine-darter.
Bet UK revealed that this meant the Leeds fan earned a mind-blowing £19,706 per week. That worked out at £1,006 per leg, £9,306 per match and £4,926 per hour.
Teen sensation Littler didn’t do so bad either as runner-up.
He earned an astonishing £12,647 per week on average in the BetMGM Premier League season.
With each night taking around four hours to complete, Littler earned a jaw-dropping £3.1k per hour from the competition.
He played the most matches in the Premier League, racking up 37 matches in 16 weeks, during the regular season, earning £90,000 in the process.
He then played two matches on Finals Night, where he finished second after his 11-8 defeat in the final to Humphries, claiming a further £125,000 as a consolation prize and taking his prize money total to £215,000.
Research by BetUK reveals Littler earned £5,513 per match and £556 per leg this season.
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries play out ‘best darts match ever’ as Wayne Mardle says ‘even they’re finding it funny’
Gerwyn Price also had a really successful season, earning a total of £175,000 in prize money.
That breaks down to £10,294 per week, £665 per leg and £6,250 per match.
Price’s average earnings also work out to be higher than Littler’s, despite earning less prize money, as the Welshman played 11 fewer games and more than 100 fewer legs than the superstar.
A Littler hold of throw as the break came at the right time for Littler – he’s won four of the five legs since!
That one sees him miss D12 for an 84 checkout but Price isn’t on a finish to punish, leaving Littler the chance to come back for D6 and takes it.
Luke Littler 7-7 Gerwyn Price*
Another BREAK of throw as Littler brings the match back level again!
He could’ve wrapped it up early, missing a dart at D16 for a superb 143 checkout. Price can’t take out 160, leaving Littler to come back for D16 and he takes it with his second dart.
Reminder, it’s first to 10. No margin for error from here.
*Luke Littler 6-7 Gerwyn Price
Ohh what a dart from Gerwyn Price to BREAK the Littler throw once more!
Price had a dart on the floor in his set-up too and Littler leaves 40 to put the pressure on the 86 Price did eventually leave.
Single 18, T18 leaves D7 and he finds it superbly!
Luke Littler 6-6 Gerwyn Price*
It looked a monumental leg and Littler BREAKS Price for it!
Back all-square as Price misses a dart at D10 for a 100 checkout, instead busting his score going into D15.
Price gets another go at it but can’t leave a finish this time as Littler misses a dart at tops this time. But he comes back for 20 and hits 10, D5 to bring us back level.
*Luke Littler 5-6 Gerwyn Price
Bloomin’ heck, he’s coming out swinging, Littler!
He misses a dart at D20 for a 10-dart hold of throw before pinning it next time for a good 11-dart leg.
That included a 180 and 147 set-up to leave 40. Maybe a sign of this second half….
Price leads at the break
Given Littler had the darts in leg one, Price will be absolutely thrilled to take a 6-4 lead into the break.
But in truth, it could and probably SHOULD be more comfortable.
Littler hasn’t got going yet and the frustration is etched across his face, even before storming off stage when Price took out the 40 in leg 10.
Price is leading the 180 count 3-1, more 140s, better checkout success and highest checkout!
