Luke Littler remains favorite to claim a first World Darts Championship title at Alexandra Palace, although time is running out for him to set a record which is becoming a ‘frustration’.
The teenage sensation and last year’s runner-up started his campaign with a 3-1 win over Ryan Mickle, where he recovered from a slow start to score a record-breaking 140.91 average in the fourth and final set.
Littler’s 32-dart set included six perfect throws en route to an 11-dart opening leg, before he came close to a nine-dart finish in the next, missing D12 which would have been his fifth nine-darter. Decisive campaign.
The 17-year-old posted nine-dart legs at the Bahrain Darts Masters, Players Championship 1, Belgian Darts Open and the Premier League Final in 2024, although he has since missed several times as he seeks to become the first player in PDC history to become the first player to win the event. Build five nine-darters in one year.
“It’s definitely becoming frustrating in a good way,” Littler admitted after the second-round win over Meikle, where there was the added pressure of knowing a nine-darter at Worlds resulted in a fan in the Ely Pally crowd £ Will win. 60,000. “Obviously, as soon as you switch to Treble 19, your eyes light up.
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Luke Littler reflects on his 3-1 victory over Ryan Mickle in his World Championship Darts opener
“I heard the cameras panning to the winner, so I’m sorry whoever you are! I’ll try again.”
His latest nine-darter attempts failed with the last dart against both Laurence Ilagan and Germain Watimena en route to victory at the Grand Slam of Darts in November – his 10th PDC title of the year.
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Luke Littler comes close to a sensational nine-darter against Jermaine Watimena during the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
Littler told reporters in Wolverhampton last month that he was considering alternative ways to close a leg after opening with six perfect darts, although he said he had no such thoughts during his effort against Meikle .
“I didn’t even think about 51,” Littler admitted. “Throughout the game, the cover shots were fine.
“I’ve hit 265 a few times and hit treble 19 well, but I might have to take a moment to think about treble 17.”
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Will we see another nine-darter at Worlds?
Martin Schindler and Damon Heta have also fallen behind after eight perfect darts in one leg during this year’s World Championships, while Christian Kist made the first nine-darter in their 3–1 defeat against Madras Razma on 18 December.
Kist launched Paddy Power £180,000 bonus with his stunning perfect leg in The Bigger 180 campaign, of which the Dutchman earned £60,000, charity partner Prostate Cancer UK received the same amount and the remaining £60,000 was given to a lucky random fan .
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Christian Kist finds a perfect first leg of the dart to take the first set in his match against Madras Razma
“I watched it at my friend’s house and, except for Ryan’s evening, I haven’t missed a single session. [Meikle] Fallon played [Sherrock]” added Littler, who defeated Kist on debut in last year’s final.
“I just looked at my partner and I thought ‘How did he do that? He was nowhere near where he was last year!’ That shows how well he’s played this year. It’s a good game for him – he’s going to have a great holiday ahead!”
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Watch every nine-darter hit in the PDC World Championship, with Christian Kist the latest player to fire a perfect leg on the Alexandra Palace stage.
Can White pull off ‘The Nuke’ at Alexandra Palace?
Littler is on course to face defending champion Luke Humphries in the semi-finals, with his next challenge coming against Ian White in the third round on Saturday – the winner will face Ryan Joyce or Ryan Searle in the last-16.
White received a walkover in the first round after Sandro Eric Sossing withdrew due to illness and shocked European Championship winners Richie Edhouse in the next round with a 3-1 win, with the ‘Diamonds’ now aiming to upset the famous Alexandra Palace .
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Ian White says he is ready to defeat ‘Runcorn’s No. 2’ Luke Littler in the third round of the World Darts Championship.
“Listen, the guy is talented and we all know it,” White said before the meeting. “They’ve put darts back on the map. Everyone wants to get into darts and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us.
“But I just want to say that he’s from Runcorn – the same as me – so he’s number 2 and I’m number 1!”
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