Littler hits nine-darter as he wins Cardiff final

To defeat Michael van Gerwen on the night of the Premier League darts in Cardiff, Luke Littler, a teen, hit a nine-darter and averaged an incredible 112.5 on the day.

The 18-year-old waited until the referee called it when the final dart on double 15 was in. He grinned and thanked the referee in vociferous style.

It was his third televised nine-darter, his second in the Premier League, and it helped him defeat Van Gerwen, who had previously lost to him 6-4.

Littler and Van Gerwen exchanged seven breaks during the final.

Van Gerwen, who featured in his first final of the year after losing five of his doubles matches in the first six weeks, did his part, winning 50% of his doubles and averaging 101.41.

Littler’s checkouts were 42.9%, but his scoring prowess earned him a third-place finish on the season.

After Luke Humphries and Rob Cross both hit one in Brighton on night five, Luke Humphries and Rob Cross both hit one in defeat. His nine-darter was the third in the Premier League this year.

With his victory, Littler is six points clear of Humphries at the top of the table, and his spot in May’s O2 Arena play-offs already seems almost certain.

Littler told Sky Sports, “I’ve been playing very well.” If the nine-darter had entered, “I had no idea.” Just had to wait for [referee]Ware to call it, just before. Is it? Is it? Yes .

Van Gerwen defeated world number one Humphries 6-4 in their second quarter-final defeat.

Humphries had a 4-1 lead, but Van Gerwen suppressed that and showed signs of his best as he averaging 104 on five relegations for the victory.

With a 6-5 victory over Gerwyn Price, Cross moved into the play-off places.

After breaking up the pair, Cross lost to Littler in the semi-finals with a 170 checkout in the final leg decider.

After being defeated by Chris Dobey with a 6-2 victory, Stephen Bunting, who is playing in the tournament for the first time in ten years, is still without a win.

I care and want to perform at my best, so Bunting posted on X to claim that he was “absolutely gutted” and that he was making himself feel anxious.

Dobey’s two points, which were his first since week one, were his first since winning the championship.

Final

Luke Littler 4-6 Michael van Gerwen

Semi-finals

Michael van Gerwen 1-6 Chris Dobey

Rob Cross 6-2 Luke Littler

Quarter-finals

Stephen Bunting defeated Chris Dobey 6-2.

Michael van Gerwen Luke Humphries 4 – 6

Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Luke Littler

Premier League Darts is played in 16 league starts, with quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals on each night.

In the quarter-finals in weeks 1-7 and 9-15, with the weeks 8 and 16 fixtures being off the table, each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven. On the final league-stage night, Sheffield will play host to fourth-and-fifth place teams, with potential playoff spots also in the cards.

Players are awarded two points for each quarter-final victory, five for each semi-final victory, and five for each night’s victory.

In a best-of-19-leg competition, the top four players will advance to the play-off night on May 23 at London’s O2 Arena, with first facing first and second facing third. The best leg of the 21 legs is the final.

Newcastle, 27 March, 19: 00 GMT

Stephen Bunting vs. Luke Littler

Rob Cross vs. Gerwyn Price

Chris Dobey and Luke Humphries