Luke Littler hit a brilliant nine-darter en route to a triumphant PDC ProTour debut on Monday, winning his first Players Championship event in Wigan.
Littler has been credited with reviving mainstream interest in darts after enjoying a dream run to the final of the PDC World Championship over the festive season.
He was beaten by Luke Humphries in the showpiece game at Alexandra Palace, but he has gone from strength to strength since then, overcoming Michael van Gerwen to win the Bahrain Masters last month before making his Premier League Darts debut.
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On Monday, the 17-year-old beat Jim Williams 6-1 in the first round of the Players Championship event, teeing up a meeting with Michele Turetta in the last 32.
Littler raced into a 5-1 lead in that match before clinching victory in style with his second nine-darter of the season, having previously produced a perfect leg against Nathan Aspinall in Bahrain in January.
NINE-DARTER FOR THE NUKE! ☢️
Is there anything Luke Littler cannot do? 😂
The 17-year-old lands a nine-darter in his first ever Players Championship event, as he dispatches Michele Turetta 6-1 to move into the last 16!
📋 HTTPS://T.CO/HSOUOS5MXU#PC1 | R3 PIC.TWITTER.COM/MMNAKKMK09
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) FEBRUARY 12, 2024
The teenager almost repeated the trick in his subsequent last-16 clash with Cameron Menzies, missing double 12 for another perfect leg in a 6-2 success.
But Littler did make more headlines later that day, seeing off James Hurrell 6-3 in the quarter-finals before a final-leg decider saw him past Scotland’s Alan Soutar in the last four.
That victory teed up a final clash with Ryan Searle, and Littler posted an average of 110 as he took the showpiece match by an 8-7 scoreline in a deciding leg.
Littler moved up to 31st in the PDC’s world rankings as a result of his stunning run to the World Championship final, and his success in Wigan could help him climb further up the rankings as points are not awarded for the World Series and Premier League events he has featured in recently.
LUKE LITTLER WINS AT PC1! 🏆☢️
On his Players Championship debut, 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler, has WON THE TITLE! 🤯
With a 110 average and hitting seven 180s, he comes through a thriller of a final to defeat Ryan Searle in a deciding leg!
Generational talent 🌟 PIC.TWITTER.COM/EHD6RFBTST
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) FEBRUARY 12, 2024
