Darts prodigy Luke Littler has made history again. The 16-year-old managed a perfect leg and a short time later he secured his first tournament victory on the professional tour.
Luke Littler’s high flight continues just a few weeks after his sensational entry into the World Cup final.
The teenager won the final of the Bahrain Darts Masters on Friday against three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen (8:5). Littler had previously thrown a nine-darter for the first time in the quarterfinals against his compatriot Nathan Aspinall.
He is the youngest player to achieve the perfect leg in front of TV cameras at a professional event. Of all people, it was van Gerwen who previously held the record. Littler’s opponent Aspinall applauded appreciatively and in the end he admitted defeat to the darts youngster 3:6.
Van Gerwen and Aspinall weren’t the only top players the prodigy eliminated in Bahrain. Littler, who turns 17 on January 21, defeated Man Lok Leung of Hong Kong 6-3 in the first round. After the coup against Aspinall, the World Cup finalist also defeated the Welsh darts star Gerwyn Price 7:3 in the semi-finals.
Darts prodigy Luke Littler triggers a wave of euphoria
Luke Littler’s high flight began at the World Championships, where he was only stopped in the final (4:7) by compatriot Luke Humphries.
The new darts prodigy sparked a real hype. The teenager already has over a million followers on Instagram – and the trend is rising. From February he will also be able to take part in the Premier League for the first time. The first of 16 matchdays takes place on February 1st in Cardiff, and a week later the Premier League visits the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. On May 23rd, the four best players will fight for the title in London, with the winner receiving 275,000 pounds (around 320,000 euros).
In the world rankings, the Order of Merit, Luke Littler was able to catapult himself from 164th place to 31st place.