Luke Littler injured in altercation with fan after Premier League Darts victory
Darts sensation Luke Littler continued his meteoric rise to earn his first Premier League Night win with a victory over Nathan Aspinall in Belfast after an exciting comeback
A brief altercation with a fan threatened to derail Luke Littler’s journey to a first Premier League Night win in Belfast.
The darts wonderkid revealed that he was hurt ahead of his semi-final clash with Michael van Gerwen due to an interaction during his walk-on. The teenage star made his way towards the oche with Pitbull’s Greenlight playing him onto the stage as he looked to earn a place in the final.
One member of the crowd appeared to grab onto the 17-year-old before security intervened at the SSE Arena. Littler admitted he was slightly shaken by the incident but managed to quickly regain his composure to defeat his Dutch rival 6-3. “I don’t know who he was, he pulled my arm. It hurt a little bit," explained Littler. “That’s why, when I went on stage, I didn’t interact with my music. I heard everyone singing but I just needed to relax. As soon as (referee) Charlie said ‘Game On’, I had to relax myself. My hand is fine. It worked out well.”
Littler defeated Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and then Nathan Aspinall in successive matches to claim victory in Northern Ireland. The youngster moved into second place in the Premier League darts standings with only Humphries ahead with a four-point advantage.
The Manchester United supporter came back from 3-1 deficit in the final and sealed four legs in a row on his way to a 6-4 win. Littler will hope he doesn’t have long to wait for a second title as the Warrington-born star next heads to Manchester in the Premier League for a homecoming of sorts.
He said following his victory: "I’m happy to win, it’s my first one. I’m glad to win against a good friend."As people may have seen, I have changed my throw, trying to take that extra bit of time and then release the next two. Sometimes I rush my darts. I am taking more time before releasing the next dart.
"I have practised more for this and it has paid off. I had a good practice game before coming out with Rob Cross. It got me up for this. If you don’t enjoy it, you don’t perform. You won’t play well. Every arena had 5,000-plus fans. I cannot wait for next week in Manchester. It’s close to my home."
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