Latest news with #NightSeven
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luke Littler planning another ‘chilled week off' after stunning Cardiff display
Luke Littler has promised not to pick up a dart again before the Premier League resumes in Newcastle next week after taking time off led to his stunning nine-dart show in Cardiff. Littler turned on the style for a third Premier League nightly win on Thursday, beating Michael van Gerwen 6-4 in a repeat of their world championship final showdown in January. The world champion hit 10 180s and returned a match average of 112.50 – and it was all achieved after Littler had kept away from the practice board to 'chill' out. LUKE LITTLER HITS THE NINE DARTER! 🚨 What a moment! Luke Littler joins the nine-dart club in the Premier League this year, as he pins the nine-darter in the fourth leg of this final and now leads 3-1! 📺 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 20, 2025 'I can't see many players in the Premier League practicing at home,' Littler said after extending his overall lead to six points. 'I think everyone from the Prem is going to the Euro Tour this weekend, which I've pulled out of. 'I chose not to go and it's just another chilled week off. I'll have another week off and chill, and see how the darts fly in Newcastle.' Littler won a set of bespoke 18-carat gold darts, worth around £30,000, for hitting the third nine-dart leg of the Premier League season. Luke Humphries and Rob Cross received their golden darts in Brighton two weeks ago. Littler will head to Tyneside – the halfway point of the 16-week regular season – with a commanding advantage over second-placed Humphries and his place in the May play-offs all but wrapped up. World number one Humphries has suffered three consecutive quarter-final defeats, but Littler is taking nothing for granted in the defence of his Premier League title. He said: 'I wouldn't say the tide has turned because there's still nine weeks left. 'Luke is still capable of winning the nightly wins, so I've got to try and add on to it.' Luke Littler sitting pretty at the top of the table after Night Seven… 🔢 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 21, 2025 Humphries suggested in a radio interview this week that the 2026 world champion will receive a record £1million prize, double the amount Littler picked up at Alexandra Palace two months ago. 'I've not been told anything,' Littler said. 'But obviously it's been going around for many years. 'It's been £500,000 for the past however many years, but I think that's the next big step for us players. 'Obviously, whoever wins it, they'll obviously go straight to number one. 'So, if it's this year or if it's next year, I do feel 99.9 per cent sure it'll happen.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Littler hits nine-darter on way to solidifying Premier League top spot in Cardiff
LUKE Littler hit a nine-dart finish on his way to solidifying his position at the top of the PDC Premier League table. The Warringtonian world champion achieved darting position in the fourth leg of the Night Seven final against Michael Van Gerwen as he reached the weekly decider for the fourth week in a row. After a brace of 180s, Littler hit a treble 20, treble 17, double 15 combination to check out 141 and send the Welsh capital crowd into raptures. It is his second Premier League nine-darter after hitting one in last year's final against Luke Humphries, his second of the calendar year overall having won a leg in nine darts against Adam Hunt in the Players Championship earlier this month and his sixth in professional tournaments to date. LUKE LITTLER HITS THE NINE DARTER! 🚨 What a moment! Luke Littler joins the nine-dart club in the Premier League this year, as he pins the nine-darter in the fourth leg of this final and now leads 3-1! 📺 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 20, 2025 That put the 18-year-old into a 3-1 lead in a final of the highest quality as Van Gerwen refused to go away, but Littler closed out a 6-4 win to pick up his third nightly win of the year. As closest rivals Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price both left Cardiff without any points, the Warringtonian world champion was able to extend his lead at the summit to six points. His average kept climbing throughout the night as he moved serenely through the gears, topping out at a staggering 112.50 average in the decider against Van Gerwen. But unlike on Night One when he averaged an even higher 113.91 against the Dutchman only to lose the game, Littler closed out victory in a game in which both men broke throw with regularity. Van Gerwen, playing in his first nightly final of the year, deserves credit for not subsiding especially after Littler's nine-darter moved him two legs clear. He fought back to 3-3 and struck back at 4-4 after Littler had broken his throw again, only for the defending champion to make his decisive move. An average of 107.67 saw him comfortably see off Rob Cross 6-2 in the semis - a game that was finished off with a 120 checkout having earlier checked out 109 to quell a Cross fightback. He ensured he would leave with points on the board by beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in his quarter-final, averaging a shade over 102. More to follow Quarter-finals Chris Dobey 6-2 Stephen Bunting Luke Humphries 4-6 Michael Van Gerwen Luke Littler 6-3 Nathan Aspinall Gerwyn Price 5-6 Rob Cross Semi-finals Chris Dobey 1-6 Michael Van Gerwen Luke Littler 6-2 Rob Cross Final Michael Van Gerwen 4-6 Luke Littler (Littler hits nine-darter)
