In Belfast, Luke Littler clinched his inaugural Premier League night victory, defeating fellow stablemate Nathan Aspinall. Littler’s momentum surged following a tense showdown with Luke Humphries, prevailing in a nail-biting last-leg decider in the opening quarter-final at the SSE Arena.
This triumph halted the reigning world champion’s impressive three-night winning streak in the Premier League.
The 17-year-old sensation, who has already secured titles at the Bahrain Masters, PDC Players Championship, and Belgian Open during his breakout year, continued his impressive run with a commanding 6-3 victory over Michael Van Gerwen. This victory came after Van Gerwen had bested him in the Berlin final on night two.
Dubbed ‘The Nuke’, he opened the final with a stunning 136 checkout in the first leg, narrowly missing a finish of 170 in the second leg before Aspinall broke his throw, building a 3-1 lead.
However, Littler mounted a resilient comeback, leveling the match with a remarkable bullseye-25-bullseye finish, earning a congratulatory high-five from his close friend Aspinall. He then surged ahead, reaching a 5-3 lead.
Although Aspinall fought back to break Littler’s momentum in the next leg, Littler remained composed, ultimately sealing the deal with a double 10 finish.
With this comprehensive victory on night nine, Littler ascends to second place in the table, trailing Humphries by four points. Meanwhile, Aspinall currently occupies the fourth spot, securing the final play-off position.
“I am just happy to win my first one,” Littler said.
“People may have seen I have changed my throw to take that little bit of extra time then releasing the next two. I have put more practice in and it has paid off.
“I can’t wait for next week (in Manchester). I know I have got Michael (Van Gerwen) in the first round, but Nathan will obviously enjoy it also in his home town.”
Aspinall advanced to his fourth final of this year’s Premier League campaign after a commanding 6-2 victory over Peter Wright, showcasing his prowess with an impressive tally of 14 scores over 100.
In the other quarter-finals, reigning Premier League champion Van Gerwen staged a remarkable comeback from 4-2 down against former world champion Michael Smith, clinching victory with a spectacular 150 checkout in the final leg.
Earlier, Aspinall secured a hard-fought win over Gerwyn Price, the defending champion in Belfast, in a tense last-leg decider, further distancing Price from the play-off spots.
Meanwhile, Wright secured a solid 6-3 victory over 2018 world champion Rob Cross in their quarter-final encounter.