Luke Littler had an extremely eventful debut on the PDC Euro Tour over the weekend as he had spats with two rivals, hit a 9-darter and lifted the trophy after a superb final at the Belgian Darts Open.
It was a brilliant weekend for the 17-year-old inWieze, as he beat a global array of stars on his way to the £30,000 top prize.
The Nuke downed Portugal’s Jose de Sousa, Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, Australia’s Damon Heta, Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena, Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko and then Englishman Rob Cross 8-7 in an epic final which saw Littler average 103.76 and Cross an incredible 108.
The drama started early on for Littler, edging out De Sousa in a deciding leg and then dealing with a strange incident in his 6-3 win over Ratajski.
The Pole twice went to Littler’s table and drunk his water, which the Nuke saw as a deliberate attempt to wind him up.
‘I saw him drink a bit of my water. I saw him do it again so I just put it on the floor,’ he said after the match.
‘Trying to get to me. If he is then fair enough, I’m just glad to get the win.’
Littler also posted on social media on Saturday night: ‘0-0 drinks my water? 1-2 drinks my water? hmm… goodnight see you all in the morning.’
Littler got revenge on Heta for his UK Open defeat in the next round, then averaged over 110 to beat Wattimena 6-2 in the quarters, despite saying that his preparation was hampered because he wanted to watch Liverpool vs Manchester City.
‘I only had 20 minutes practice because I was watching the football!’ Littler admitted.
Then came a fiery meeting with Pietreczko in the semis. The teenager comfortably won the match 7-3 but was confronted by an angry opponent after the winning double, with Pikachu shaking hands but delivering some intense words, with Littler looking shocked to receive them.
The German wrote on social media after the match: ‘So I really appreciated the fact that you can play a game like that at such an age. But I hope the arrogance punishes him.’
It is not clear what Pietreczko had such a problem with, potential Littler’s celebrations, but the Nuke did not seem fussed.
He posted on Facebook: ‘No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said. He said something then don’t do it again.’
The incident clearly didn’t rattle the World Championship finalist as he then turned in a superb performance to edge out Cross 8-7 in the final, including a 9-darter along the way.
‘I’m just glad to get over the line,’ Littler said after a brilliant contest with Voltage. ‘I lost the two legs after I hit the nine so I’m relieved to get the win.
‘It’s always good to be involved in a good game; me and Rob have battles and we bring the best out of each other.
‘I’m really happy to hit a 9-darter, I prefer 144 to 141 to finish a nine because when the first treble 20 goes in I’m confident of following it with another.
‘I know the spotlight is on me because I’ve done so well but I just play my darts and get on with it. I just do what I do.’
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