Luke Littler warned his Premier League title rivals to “catch them” after taking their lead at the top of the table with their third win of the season in Berlin.
The world No. 1 produced a series of impressive performances at the Uber Arena to spark victory, averaging over 105 points in all three games and seeing off the likes of Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen for the £10,000 top prize.
Littler won 6-4 against Van Gerwen, sparking two ‘big fish’ finishes and his third win in four weeks. His recent success saw him overtake Johnny Clayton for the top spot midway through the season.
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Littler records consecutive 170 seconds and wins the Premier League in Week 8
The turnaround follows a slow start to the season for Littler, who finished seventh in the first four weeks, but now has 21 points and is in pole position to qualify for final night at the O2.
“This Premier League was very interesting,” Littler admitted. “Obviously Johnny (Clayton) got away a little bit, but I was sitting in seventh place and thought it would be a bigger gap.
“At one point I was sitting in sixth place, but now everyone is trying to catch me!”
Littler added: “I feel very good. Better than the first few weeks. I’m at the top now, but I don’t want to move from there. I want to stay at the top.”
How Littler had his ‘best’ Premier League night
Littler battled through the first four legs against Bunting in the quarterfinals, and “The Bullet” needed a 167 checkout at the bullseye to prevent any risk of whitewashing before the 19-year-old came away with a 6-3 victory.
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Stephen Bunting checks out 167 on the bull and regains his legs against Littler
In a rematch of last week’s Dublin final, Littler averaged even more against Price as he responded by winning the next three legs to take a 4-3 lead over the Welshman with a 152 finish to secure his 13th win in 14 against the two-time world champion.
Littler also scored a 126 finish against Van Gerwen to take a 3-0 lead, and then clinched a ‘big fish’ checkout in the eighth and final leg to take the maximum five points on offer that night.
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Premier League darts match highlights between Littler and Bunting
“Overall it was a very good night,” Littler explained. “We played some great darts, I think they were the best we’ve ever played on a (Premier League) night and we got the job done.
“When I was practicing with my new darts, I was hitting the bull at least once out of every three darts.I hit 126 hits on the bull before getting into the 170s.
“I’m really confident in these new darts, but we need to back it up next week.
“Statistically, obviously I felt like I was playing and feeling the best I’ve felt in a while.”
Why did the “incredible” Littler change his darts in the middle of the night?
Littler used two different sets of darts during his win on the night, changing before his win over Price in the semi-finals, but it was revealed that this had already been decided before his win in the quarter-finals.
“I said going into the match that if I win the first match, I’ll change my darts in the second match,” Littler told Sky Sports. “That will get some people talking!
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Littler explains decision to change darts on Premier League night eight
“The target wasn’t quite right, so we made some adjustments, but it worked out tonight.”
Former Premier League champion Glen Durant said: “I’m from the era of playing the same darts for as long as possible, but he’s changing after an incredible opening game where he averaged over 100 darts. He’s unbelievable.”
“Everyone is saying that Johnny Clayton has already been eliminated and Luke Littler has already advanced, but Creighton is going to want to get a few more points after losing two games in a row in the quarterfinals. The league is going well and it’s going to feel like every week is fulfilling.”
Littler overtook Johnny Clayton to take first place in the standings.
What’s next?
The ninth night of the Premier League will take place at Manchester’s AO Arena, with Van Gerwen taking on Bunting and Gerwyn Price taking on Luke Humphries.
Van Veen will face Littler, who will be looking for his fourth win in five weeks, while Creighton will face Lock again after losing to the Northern Irishman in Berlin.
Watch Premier League Darts every Thursday until Final Night on May 28th. Week 9 from Manchester will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm on Thursday 2nd April. With NOW, you can stream darts without a contract.
