Darts sensation Luke Littler continued his remarkable rise by hitting another nine-darter on Monday en route to winning his first ranking title on debut at the Players Championship.
The 17-year-old phenomenon from Warrington achieved the feat as a professional for the second time already against Michele Turetta in Wigan.
Littler later missed a shot at double 12 for his second nine-darter of the day as he also dispatched Cameron Menzies 6-2 to move into the quarter-finals at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, having also earlier thrashed Jim Williams 6-1 and beat Turetta by the same one-sided scoreline.
Littler went on to defeat James Hurrell and Alan Soutar before edging Ryan Searle 8-7 in a pulsating final to claim Players Championship glory and pocket £15,000.
“I know my game is there, I know I can beat anyone, and I’m really happy to have won,” Littler told the PDC website.
“Me and my manager know what I have to do to qualify for the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix.
“I want to try and qualify for everything, and I’ve just got to play my game. I’m taking it in my stride. It takes huge pressure off me, and now hopefully I can settle and enjoy it.”
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
Littler has taken the darts world by storm since captivating the nation with his fairytale run to the final on his World Championship debut at Alexandra Palace back in January, where he was eventually edged out by world No1 Luke Humphries in a thrilling encounter.
‘The Nuke’ has continued to go from strength to strength since then, winning his first-ever PDC title by beating three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen in the final of the Bahrain Masters last month.
He hit his first televised nine-darter against Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals of that competition in the Middle East.
Van Gerwen quickly got revenge in the final of the Dutch Masters on home soil the following week, with Littler also starring during his first campaign in Premier League Darts having been selected as the youngest player ever to feature in the competition.
Littler got more revenge on Humphries – whom he also ousted at the Dutch Masters – before losing to Michael Smith in the semi-finals on night one of the 2024 Premier League Darts campaign in Cardiff, while on night two in Berlin last week he reached the final but was then beaten again by Van Gerwen in dramatic fashion.
Night three takes place in Glasgow this Thursday evening (February 15).
