Luke Littler knocked out of Players Championship in dramatic fashion after losing thrilling decider to Gerwyn Price in quarter-finals
Luke Littler’s hopes of winning the Players Championship were dashed in dramatic fashion after lost a thrilling decider to Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals.
Littler, 18, was beaten by his Premier League rival Price, 39, in a thriller in Wigan that saw both players average over 100.
After trailing 2-0 early on in the encounter, PDC world champion Littler fired a 167 checkout to cut the deficit to 2-1 before levelling the match – only to lose ground once again by falling 4-2 behind.
However, the youngster took the next three legs but Welshman Price finished on 92 to take the contest to the decider it so richly deserved.
In the heat of battle, The Iceman stayed cool, calm and collected to seal his place to the semi-finals with a 14-dart victory.
It ends a disappointing tournament for Littler, who also trailed in the second round (last 64) but at 5-4 down he forced a last-leg decider against 24-year-old former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks from Blackburn.
Luke Littler’s hopes of winning the Players Championship were dashed in dramatic fashion after lost a thrilling decider to Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals
Littler, 18, was beaten by his Premier League rival Price, 39, in a thriller in Wigan that saw both players average over 100
Littler redeemed himself with six 180s and a 102 checkout – which earnt him a last-32 encounter with 24-year-old Austrian Rusty-Jake Rodriguez.
The 18-year-old eventually ran out as a 6-2 victor as he averaged 98.28 and compiled checkouts of 105 and 100.
Littler also trailed 2-0 and 4-2 against 24-year-old Dutchman Wessel Nijman in the last 16 but progressed to the quarter-finals, where his run was ultimately ended by ‘The Iceman’ Price.
It comes after Price also ended Littler’s hopes in the quarter-finals of the Bahrain Darts Masters in January.
Littler fired back at critics on Monday evening after a shock defeat in the third round of Players Championship One.
Littler, who was beaten by Michael van Gerwen on the opening night of the Premier League in Belfast, had started with a 6-4 win over Canadian veteran Jim Long and then beat Martin Lukeman 6-3, but was averaging only 87.4.
However, his next opponent Joe Cullen proved too strong for the 18-year-old, landing eight maximums in a convincing 6-3 victory, taking five straight legs as Littler missed 15 doubles.
After coming in for criticism in the wake of the defeat, Littler retorted: ‘Still earned a few quid today while these are sat at home charging their phones waiting for me to lose.’
Next up for ‘The Nuke’ is a trip to Glasgow, where he is scheduled to appear at Premier League Night 2 on Thursday.
