Luke

For the third year in a row, Littler finished top of the Premier League standings.

He went on to reach the final for the third consecutive year and has won the title in two of them.

He set a new record for night wins in the league phase in 2025 and matched that tally of six in 2026.

Despite that, Littler said he felt like he did not want to “go to the next Premier League night”.

He added: “Tonight was one of those wins where I had to get it done. Even sat at home, I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t want to go to the next Premier League night but we’ve done it.

“We’ve all got feelings, not just as dart players, we’re humans. I can’t believe I’ve won.”

The current Premier League format lasts 17 weeks if you reach finals night and sees players travel across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Europe to play every Thursday during the league phase.

The event only features eight players – the world’s four top-ranked players and four players who are invited by the Professional Darts Corporation – and runs alongside ProTour events.

Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle highlighted how former world champions Gerwyn Price and Phil Taylor have felt a similar strain to Littler in the past.

He said: “It is not a rarity for the Premier League to become too much. Week after week, it is an endurance test.

“Sometimes you can feel down and if you feel down, you become mentally weaker.

“We know how strong Luke Littler is mentally but when you are feeling like you’re public enemy number one, you can feel like you don’t want to turn up, but he did turn up and this is now the by-product of turning up.”

Despite coming close to leaving the competition, Littler’s dominance in the sport continues to grow.

His victory means he has added the Premier League to his World Championship title, World Masters and UK Open successes this year.

Littler holds seven of the eight ranking titles that the Professional Darts Corporation have, plus the Premier League.

“There is a point in everyone’s career when they are at their peak – we don’t know if this is his peak but we know this is peak level because Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor’s peak was this kind of standard,” added Mardle.

“We’re assuming he must be near his peak and it is good enough time and time again. There are no weaknesses really.”

Among the next things for Littler to tick off is glory alongside Luke Humphries for England in June’s World Cup of Darts.

If the pair play anything like they did in London on Thursday night, you wouldn’t bet against them.

Today I watched as Shohei Ohtani, the day after pitching seven innings, go 0 for 5 with two strikeouts while grounding into a double play. The sample size, at this point, has to be large enough for Dave Roberts and the Dodgers’ management to discuss the elephant in the room with their lead-off batter. He should not bat when he pitches, and he should have a day off after he pitches.

It could also be argued that he should not be the lead-off batter — his average and on-base percentage are lower than, say, Hyeseong Kim, who is also faster and would be a distraction for an opposing pitcher as a threat to steal. It would also give someone for Shohei to drive in if he dropped down the order a spot or two. If baseball is a numbers exercise, then the Dodgers need to do the math.

Peter Maradudin
Burlingame

I have seen enough of Kyle Tucker to know the Dodgers lineup of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Tucker, Teo Hernández, Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim needs to be changed. Kim has better defense and is a base-stealer. Freeman is not a switch hitter since he can’t hit from the right side. Also, no lefty in the bullpen knows how to throw a screwball?

Ed Villanueva
Chino Hills

Luke Littler overcame a chorus of boos in Liverpool to strengthen his grip on a Premier League play-off place with an impressive 6-1 win over Jonny Clayton.

Manchester United fan Littler, 19, was booed throughout the night on Merseyside, but he kept his cool to claim his fourth nightly win in week 12.

The world champion saw off Luke Humphries 6-2 in the quarter-finals, but was pushed to the limit by Michael van Gerwen in the last four.

With the top four in the Premier League table going through to the finals night, Clayton leads the way overall, three points clear of second-placed Littler, who is 15 ahead of Gian van Veen in fifth.

Clayton and Littler are clear of the rest with four league-phase nights to go before finals night at London’s O2 Arena on 28 May.

When comparing his reception in Rotterdam last Thursday to the one he got in Liverpool, Littler said: “Rotterdam was way louder than this tonight.

“There was a little bit [of booing] but this week was nothing compared to last week.

“I’ve just got to forget about it. I was definitely focused and wanted to win tonight, and that’s what I’ve done.”

Littler has finished top of the table in the previous two years and is determined to do so again, saying: “I’m very close to Jonny now and I’m going to go chasing.

“I want to finish top once again and if it’s not to be then it’s not to be, but there are still four weeks left to play for.”

Littler, who was booed in Rotterdam last week following his exchange with Dutch number one Gian van Veen in Manchester three weeks ago, showed his resilience to secure another five points.

He quickly raced into a 4-0 lead over Clayton in the final after capitalising on missed doubles from the 2021 Premier League champion.

While Clayton was only able to land one out of his six double attempts, Littler averaged more than 104 and had a 60% checkout rate to secure victory.

Luke-ah?

With star guard Luka Doncic back on the Lakers sideline but still out indefinitely, Luke Kennard did his best impression of the NBA’s leading scorer Saturday, catapulting the Lakers to a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Kennard drained all five of his three-point attempts, including three in the fourth quarter. Threes while curling off screens or taking hand-offs from teammates are routine for the NBA’s leading three-point shooter. But Kennard may have surprised even himself when he drove against Houston’s Jabari Smith, U-turned, scampered back outside the three-point line and drained a three from the wing.

The Crypto.com Arena crowd that was buzzing from the opening tip to the final horn erupted. Kennard screamed.

“My word is speechless, to be honest,” center Deandre Ayton said of Kennard’s performance. “Seeing him five-for-five in a playoff game as a Laker. Yeah, it hits different.”

The Lakers sent Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round draft pick to Atlanta for Kennard in February. The midseason trade felt relatively marginal compared to league-wide blockbusters that shuffled James Harden, Darius Garland and Anthony Davis.

Kennard has now authored several headlining performances in the purple and gold. He drained a game-winning three-pointer against Orlando. He notched the first triple-double of his career.

Saturday’s season high eclipsed them all.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, celebrates with guard Luke Kennard after hit a three-pointer against the Rockets during Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“To do it especially at a place like this, playing for the Lakers on the biggest stage in basketball, it means a lot to me,” Kennard said, “and what I’ve done and just credit to the work I’ve put in and how I prepared leading up to this.”

Since Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) were injured on April 2, Kennard has had to adjust his role to include more ball handling. He typified the Lakers’ adaptability with 32 assists in the last five games of the regular season after averaging 1.7 assists per game since joining the team. But he lamented that he wasn’t shooting to his standard.

Compared to his league-best 47.8%, his 30.8% shooting from three during the past five games felt like a slump.

Each shot, whether a make or miss, still helped Kennard develop a rhythm entering the playoffs, he said. Now if he sees even a sliver of daylight, he’ll be ready to shoot. It’s exactly what the Lakers want to see.

“I just liked that he was aggressive shooting threes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I mean, he played a fantastic basketball game.”

Kennard, who also had three assists and four rebounds, was nine for 13 from the field as the Lakers, who shot 60.6% as a team, shot 60% or better in a playoff game for the first time since the first round of the 2009 playoffs. Led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Lakers won their first of back-to-back titles that year.

All five of the Lakers starters scored in double figures. LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds while helping keep two-time All-Star Alperen Sengun to 19 points on inefficient six-for-19 shooting. The Rockets, who were without Kevin Durant because of a minor knee injury, shot 37.6% from the floor.

“Everybody played a big role tonight and I feel that just speaks to what we’ve been the last few weeks with guys out,” Kennard said. “It’s going to take everybody. We know that. We got to continue to elevate each other and push each other and continue to be a team.”

Doncic reunited with the team Saturday after he spent the past two weeks in Europe getting specialized treatment on his Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Dressed in a crisp white button up shirt and khaki pants, Doncic sat next to Reaves on the bench. They rose to their feet every time Kennard set up for a three. They handed out high fives at every time out.

The injuries to Doncic and Reaves turned the Lakers into the perceived sitting duck of the competitive Western Conference playoffs. Critics felt the team couldn’t survive one playoff round with the 41-year-old James as its sole offensive catalyst.

A welcoming cheer from Lakers fans during starting lineups serves as a reminder that James still has backup.

“Luuuuuke!”