Luke Littler celebrates in the Premier League

Darts results: Luke Littler finishes top at the end of his debut Premier League Darts season ahead of next week's Finals Night at the O2

By Sporting Life

Darts

Fri May 17, 2024 · 7M ago

Luke Littler's remarkable debut season reached a new high as he finished top of the BetMGM Premier League Darts table ahead of next week's Play-Offs at the O2.

The Nuke headed to Sheffield holding a five-point lead over Luke Humphries and ensured he could not be caught by the world champion thanks to a 6-4 victory over rock-bottom Peter Wright in the opening quarter-final, in which he hit the headlines with an outrageous D20-D20-D20 checkout.

Littler becomes the sixth different player to win the regular season since the Premier League began in 2008 behind Phil Taylor (x8), Michael van Gerwen (x8), Glen Durrant, Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price - while he's only the fourth to do it on debut alongside the first three players on the aforementioned list.

The 17-year-old's rapid ascent to stardom has never let up during a hectic 2024 which has also seen him win four PDC titles and hit three nine-dart finishes aside from his exploits in the Premier League, in which he's averaged around 100 overall and won four nights of the campaign which has seen him pocket a total of £40,000.

Next week he'll attempt to join Taylor, MVG, Raymond van Barneveld, Gary Anderson, Durrant and Clayton in the Hall of Fame of Premier League champions at the O2, where a cheque of £275,000 awaits the winner.

No high five for Cool Hand

Littler's rivals for glory will be Humphries, van Gerwen and Michael Smith, who beat Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in a winner-takes-all quarter-final on Thursday night and then went on to eliminate Littler in the semi-finals before collecting the winner's cheque.

Littler had led 4-2 when Smith took out 120 and then broke throw to level, before Littler spurned a glorious opportunity to take back control of the match and allowed Smith to edge ahead.

A 12-dart leg from Littler forced a deciding leg but Smith dominated it with three 100-plus visits and just 13 darts needed to reach the final, where he took on Humphries following the latter's defeat of van Gerwen.

Smith completed the job by coming from 3-1 down to beat Humphries, who had been seeking a record fifth night win and looked set to capture it when hitting a 170 checkout to establish daylight over his fellow world champion.

Smith though took out 140 to get back within one and went on to rattle off five legs in succession, narrowly missing bullseye for a second 170 finish but returning to tidy up 25 and sign off a dream night in style.

Draw for Play-Offs Night

Thursday May 23
The O2, London
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
Quarter-Finals

Luke Littler v Michael Smith
Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen

“To qualify and end the season with a win, it feels great,” reflected Smith, who will play Littler in the semi-finals next week.

“I was literally drained after beating Nathan. I was really emotional because he’s one of my best friends, but I had a job to do tonight.

“I know I won the first week [in Cardiff], but to sign off with another one, I’m going into The O2 with a little bit of confidence.

“I’m really looking forward to next week now. I know I’ve got a good record against Luke, but it doesn’t matter now.

“This is a different atmosphere, and it feels like a different tournament almost. You have to bring your best game, and hopefully I can bring some good form into next week.”

Luke Littler topped the table on debut