Luke Littler hit a perfect 6-of-6 double in his first round of the SUPERBET Polish Darts Open to advance smoothly, but rival Luke Humphries was left frustrated by the behavior of the Krakow fans.
World champion Littler posted an incredible 100 percent checkout rate and beat Mike Decker 6-1, earning him a place in Round 3 against Ross Smith on Sunday afternoon.
He averaged nearly 114 points in the PDC’s first World Series event in Poland, a result that led to a difficult start to the Premier League season.
“I think we definitely needed this tonight,” Littler said. Littler lost to Jan van Veen in the Premier League opener and was completely defeated by Johnny Clayton in the third week.
“I definitely had to perform not just for myself but for the fans as well.
“The first few weeks of the Premier League didn’t go as planned, but this is Poland’s first World Series and I know that. We always want to win the first World Series of the year.”
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Highlights of Luke Littler’s crushing defeat to Johnny Clayton on the third night of the Premier League in Glasgow.
World No. 2 Humphries faced an even tougher test against Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, but Ratajski benefited from the cheers from his home country fans.
Humphries led 5-2 going into the race, but was cut back to 5-5 before winning the final leg.
He then had harsh words for both himself and the supporters who tried to bring him down after posting a disappointing average of 97.17.
“We probably saw a great game of darts there,” Humphries said. “Unfortunately, it can be difficult to perform when you have a crowd and you don’t get the fair game you want.
“I probably put a lot of pressure on Krzysztof at the end.”
He added: “I start every game like a train and I’m playing the best darts of anyone and then all of a sudden I’m playing the worst darts of anyone. It’s a strange scenario for me.”
“Tonight was really crappy for me, but I hope I can come back tomorrow as a different player and play as well as I’ve been playing.”
Luke Humphries was frustrated despite the win (Photo: PDC Europe)
Humphries will face Boris Krčmar on Sunday after the Croatian defeated Martin Schindler, while Ross Smith secured a fight with Littler with a 6-1 win over Darryl Gurney.
Premier League stars Josh Lock, Clayton, Stephen Bunting and Van Veen also won on Saturday following the absence of Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price.
A less shocking day saw James Wade lose 6-0 to Cameron Menzies, while two-time world champion Gary Anderson lost 6-2 to Wessel Nyman.
The tournament continues on Sunday afternoon, with eight matches in the third round tied, before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will all be played in the evening.
Results for Saturday, February 21st
round 2
evening session
Josh Locke 6-1 William O’Connor
Johnny Clayton 6-4 Adam Gaulas
Michael Smith 6-5 Joe Cullen
Luke Littler 6-1 Mike Decker
Callan Liz 4-6 Luke Woodhouse
Luke Humphries 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Niels Sonnefeld
Jan van Veen 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Afternoon session
Boris Krutschmar 6-4 Martin Schindler
Chris Dobie 6-0 Connor Scutt
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Daryl Pilgrim
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Danny Knoppert
Wessel Nyman 6-2 Gary Anderson
Cameron Menzies 6-0 James Wade
Ross Smith 6-1 Darryl Gurney
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Ryan Searle
Schedule for Sunday, February 22nd
Afternoon session (starting at noon GMT)
round 3
Luke Littler vs Ross Smith
Cristo Reyes v Josh Locke
Luke Woodhouse v Chris Dobbie
Johnny Clayton v Michael Smith
Luke Humphries v Boris Krutschmar
Stephen Bunting v Jermaine Wattimena
Jan van Veen vs Nathan Aspinall
Wessel Nyman v Cameron Menzies
Evening session (from 6pm GMT)
quarterfinals
Semi-final
final
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will defend his title and the fight can be seen on Sky Sports every Thursday from February to May. Stream darts and other top sports now.
