Luke Littler was impressive in Liverpool

Darts results: Luke Littler silences Liverpool crowd to win a third Premier League night of the season and go top of the table

By Sporting Life

Darts

Fri April 26, 2024 · 8M ago

Luke Littler overcame a hostile reception in Liverpool to win his third Premier League night of the season and return to the top of the table.

The 17-year-old has been a fans’ favourite since bursting onto the scene at the World Championship over Christmas but his antics on social media have not been well received on Merseyside.

Littler is an avid Manchester United fan and has enjoyed goading Liverpool in recent weeks as their quadruple hopes have crumbled.

He was jeered onto stage at the M&S Bank Arena in unprecedented scenes for Littler, but took it in good spirit, reminding fans of the score in Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby.

Littler was also booed at the oche but let his darts do the talking against Gerwyn Price in a 6-4 win before following it up with a thrilling comeback triumph over Nathan Aspinall, which he pinched in a deciding leg having been 5-2 behind and survived five match darts across three legs, and an easy 6-2 victory against Rob Cross in the final.

“I’m just happy with the way I played,” reflected Littler, who continues to shine on his Premier League debut.

“I wanted to come here, pick up some more points, and hopefully I’m in the Play-Offs now.

“I knew what to expect [with the atmosphere], but I always like to engage with the crowd, and I was just playing with complete freedom up there.

“I’m really happy to pull away from the chasing pack. There’s only three more league nights left now, so maybe I could top the table. That would be amazing.”

Luke Littler is top of the standings

Cross had snapped his seven-match losing run with victory over Smith in the quarter-finals, averaging 102 and converting 66% of his attempts at double to triumph in a high-quality tussle.

The 33-year-old later ran out a convincing 6-2 winner against Michael van Gerwen to advance to a second nightly final of 2024, punishing 16 missed darts at double from the Dutchman.

Earlier in the night, Van Gerwen reeled off five consecutive legs from 3-1 down to deny Peter Wright in the last eight, which mathematically ended the Scot’s hopes of a top-four finish.

Elsewhere, Aspinall boosted his top-four credentials with a resounding quarter-final win against Humphries, averaging 102 and pinning six of his eight attempts at double to close out a 6-2 victory.