World number one Luke Littler defied the perfect legs of Dutchman Jan van Veen to win his first-ever Polish Darts Open on Sunday.
Littler defeated the Dutchman 8-4 to take the title in a reenactment of last month’s world championship final in Krakow, with the two-time world champion revealing that Van Veen’s nine darter, shown for the first time on television, gave him the victory.
The reigning European Champion scored a perfect leg to take a 3-2 lead, but ‘The Nuke’ won six of the next seven legs, defeating his rival with an impressive average score of 108.06.
“It definitely inspired me,” recalled Littler, who had just won his fifth title on the European Tour. “I was hitting 180 all weekend and I wanted to hit it too, but when Gian hit it, I thought in my head, ‘I’m a little tired, so let’s hit it.’
“I’ve had people score nine darters against me before, and that’s a big accomplishment. It wasn’t easy. In the final, it was so early that I was going to go for him now while he was a little overwhelmed.”
The 19-year-old added: “The first three weeks in the Premier League I didn’t feel the best, but coming here I definitely needed this.
“We’ll be able to bring it to Belfast on Thursday.”
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Highlights of the World Championship Final between Littler and Van Veen…
Littler won 7-1 overall against Alexandra Palace, and the world number one produced another dominant performance in Poland to claim the top prize of £35,000.
Van Veen got off to a great start, finishing leg 5 of the contest flawlessly with a 112 finish with 14 dart holds and two ties each.
The Dutch No. 1 followed up consecutive 180s with a nerveless out shot of 141, capping off his first nine-darter on the big stage and sending a packed crowd at EXPO Krakow into a frenzy.
However, Littler responded with an immediate break of the throw in the sixth leg, backing up with legs of 14, 14 and 12 darts to establish a commanding 6-3 cushion.
Van Veen halted Littler’s onslaught with a clinical 74 finish in the 10th leg, but the Warrington wonder was never to be denied, winning the next two legs with just 28 darts to seal the win.
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Van Veen took fake revenge against Littler on the first night of this year’s Premier League Darts…
World No. 3 Van Veen, who was denied a first European Tour title on his debut in Poland, admitted his magical moment against Littler may have had a negative impact.
“I wish I had missed the double 12! Of course I was very happy to hit the nine-darter, but the next couple of legs were not good,” he said.
“I was really excited about my first nine darter on stage, but because of that I missed out on making it to the finals.”
In the semifinals, Littler averaged just shy of 106 points in doubles, scoring 44 percent, defeating Chris Doby 7-3 and earning another spot in the European Tour finals.
Van Veen continued his dominant recent record against Luke Humphries with a 7-5 win, despite the Dutch No. 1 missing eight games in the previous round.
Reached the quarter-finals in Krakow
Luke Humphries beats Stephen Bunting with 170 not out
Littler also had a strong performance in doubles, securing his fifth consecutive win with a 6-1 victory over Josh Locke.
Doby defeated Michael Smith 6-2 to set up a match with Littler, but was wary of Littler’s threat and joked, “I’ll probably only last three minutes. The man is a machine.”
Humphries advanced to the semi-finals with a resounding 6-1 victory over Stephen Bunting.
“Cool Hand” led “The Big Fish” in the early stages and advanced to the final four with Van Veen.
The Dutchman posted an impressive 130 checkout in a stunning 6-2 win over Wessel Nijman, striking out 130 and finishing the contest with an average of 107.5 and 50 percent in doubles.
evening session
quarterfinals
Luke Littler 6-1 Josh Locke
Chris Dobie 6-2 Michael Smith
Luke Humphries 6-1 Stephen Bunting
Jan van Veen 6-2 Wessel Nyman
Semi-final
Luke Littler 7-3 Chris Doby
Jan van Veen 7-5 Luke Humphries
final
Luke Littler 8-4 Jan van Veen
Littler, Humphries and Van Veen progress in afternoon session
Littler remained on track to win his first European Tour event of the year after a great afternoon show in Krakow
After Littler sent out Mike Dekker to set off fireworks on Saturday, the Warrington teenager shined in Sunday’s afternoon session, bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit with six legs of spin and averaging 100 points, five 180s and 55 percent in doubles to propel himself into the quarterfinals against Locke. He won seven straight against Ross Smith.
Humphries missed 13 darts on a double in his match against Croatia’s Boris Krčmar, but still won 6-1.
He later clarified his comments about the crowds in Krakow on Saturday night, after appearing to criticize them.
“I wasn’t moaning yesterday. I understand. I understand. No disrespect to the crowd,” he said. “Yesterday was tough and when you play in an emotional game like this, sometimes you don’t have the right words.
“The crowd was really great and I thought it was one of the best atmospheres I’ve seen on the European tour so far.”
Van Veen fights back to defeat Nathan Aspinall
In the best match of the afternoon session, Van Veen rallied from a 4-2 deficit to defeat Nathan Aspinall 6-5 in the deciding final leg.
Aspinall was averaging over 100, but a crucial 122 bullseye finish for Van Veen in the eighth leg proved crucial. That was shortly after Aspinall missed the bull and took a 5-3 lead.
Former world champion Michael Smith, who was called up late for the tournament and arrived on Saturday morning after missing a flight on Friday, punished a dreadful finish from Johnny Clayton (4/17) and won 6-4.
Afternoon session
round 3
Luke Littler 6-2 Ross Smith
Josh Locke 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Chris Dobie 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Michael Smith 6-4 Johnny Clayton
Luke Humphries 6-1 Boris Krutschmar
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Jan van Veen 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Vessel Nyman 6-1 Cameron Menzies
What’s happening on the fourth night of the Premier League in Belfast?
Josh Lock headlines Premier League night four in Belfast
The Lock will take center stage in Belfast on Thursday when the Northern Irishman takes on fellow Premier League newcomers Van Veen in a big game at the SSE Arena.
Littler will take on Johnny Clayton, Stephen Bunting will take on Humphries, while Michael van Gerwen will aim to return from his absence in Glasgow to face Gerwyn Price in a highly anticipated quarter-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 until May. Stream darts and other top sports now.
