Luke Littler returned to form by winning night two of the Premier League in Glasgow.
The teenage sensation beat Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen before defeating Luke Humphries 6-5 to prevent the world number one taking back to back nightly wins.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his triumph, Littler said: “It was a weird final. We both weren’t playing well. Now and then I looked up at the screen and we were both on a 90 average. The crowd got involved. When Luke went 5-4 up, I thought just break him and I did well to hit an 11-darter. That was crucial.”
Littler began his run with a quarter-final matchup against Rob Cross, who reached the semi-final last week. The match began with two holds of throw, but a big moment came in the third leg when a 128 out from Cross broke Littler’s throw and put the world champion behind. From there Voltage rallied, winning the next three legs to put himself 5-1 up and have Littler on the brink of elimination. The Nuke was not finished however, and stormed back to win five legs in a row and complete an incredible comeback to win 6-5, sealed with an 88 out in the final leg to move on to the semi-finals.
In the other quarter-finals, Stephen Bunting was thrashed 6-1 by Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price recorded his first win of the campaign by beating Nathan Aspinall 6-4, and night one winner Luke Humphries beat Chris Dobey by the same scoreline in a repeat of last weeks final.
Littler was to face a familiar foe in the semi-final in the form of Michael van Gerwen, as the 18-year-old looked to get revenge for his quarter-final defeat to the Dutchman last week. The Nuke went about his mission well, storming into a 4-0 lead, with a 115 checkout in the third leg a notable highlight. Mighty Mike managed to get a foothold in the match, taking his next two legs on throw to leave the score at 5-2 to the teenager. Littler held throw in the next leg however to round up a 6-2 victory and book a spot in his first nightly final of the season.
In the other semi-final, Luke Humphries took on Welshman Gerwyn Price looking to reach a second consecutive nightly final. The Englishman was successful, defeating The Iceman 6-4 to set up a clash of the Lukes in the final.
The final was to be an interesting encounter. The first eight legs were all won on throw, but there was a notable moment in the third leg. Humphries was sat on 12, and looking in very good shape to record the first break of the match. Littler needed a 170 out in order to save himself, and the 18-year-old pulled it off, reeling in the “big fish” to go 2-1 up. The holds of throw were to end eventually, when Humphries took the ninth leg against throw to put himself 5-4 up, and needing just one more leg to record a second nightly win in a row. He was not able to make the advantage count however, and Littler broke straight back to take the match to a last-leg decider. The Nuke was able to hold his throw, pinning tops to record a 13-dart leg to win the match 6-5, and therefore secure the nightly win.
Humphries remains at the top of the table, with a final this week enough to take his tally to eight points. Littler jumps up to second with his nightly win, on five points. Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey round out the top four, with four points and three points respectively. Next Thursday will see the Premier League leave the UK for the first time this year, as Dublin plays host to the action.