All at sea and then Littler roars back in epic Blackpool battle
When the going gets tough, the tough get going – and he had to turn a titanic tide beside the seaside to keep his World Matchplay dream alive.
'The Nuke' unpacked his bucket and spade to dig himself out of a massive hole to achieve a tense 13-11 win over Jermaine Wattimena in the second round in Blackpool.
Relief for Luke Littler and Jermaine Wattimena at the end of an epic tussle on stage in the Empress Ballroom at Winter Gardens in Blackpool (Image: Taylor Lanning)
Littler, who will go on to face former UK champion Andrew Gilding in Friday night's quarter-finals, looked all at sea as he fell 4-0 and 7-2 behind but charged back into an 8-7 lead, the match then going to a tiebreaker before the Warrington 18-year-old made it into the last eight.
The tournament favourite was in ominous form with his crushing 10-2 win over Ryan Searle on Sunday and appeared super confident as he milked the crowd during his walk-on for the clash with the Dutchman but when things didn't go to plan in the first leg the tables were turned.
(Image: Taylor Lanning)
Littler bust 127, missed the double again on his next visit, then three attempts at the outer ring allowed Wattimena to snatch an unlikely first-leg lead against the throw.
From there, 'The Nuke' couldn't find his flow and Wattimena meant business as he stormed into a 4-0 lead that left heads spinning in the Winter Gardens.
Littler took the next two but it was only a temporary reprieve as Wattimena rediscovered his rhythm, making it 7-2 with back-to-back 180s part of an 11-darter.
Luke Littler getting frustrated on stage in Blackpool (Image: Taylor Lanning)
When Littler pulled back the next leg he gestured to the crowd, pointing to the world champion's star on his shirt as he indicated he was not ready to go home yet.
And he then set about showing it as he won six legs on the spin, checking out on 120 to hit the front with the pressure clearly getting to Wattimena as his earlier poise vanished.
The Dutchman recovered to level at 8-8, then punished a Littler miss for 9-9 as the contest went the distance.
Luke Littler in the midst of a titanic battle (Image: Taylor Lanning)
As it went to extra legs both players were missing their throws before Littler got the D10 he needed to end the fight.
'When I pointed to the star on my shirt, I'm a world champion for a reason, I find these gears when I need it,' Littler said on Sky Sports.
'I've not felt pressure like that since the first round of the world championship. I was a bit nervous and it's on to my third game here, I've won two of them.
'I want to get back on stage and right now I can't wait to be in the quarter-final.'
His next opponent Gilding made it through to the last eight with an 11-5 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.
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