Golden wonder Luke Littler says his record-breaking romp at the BetMGM Premier League summit has been fired up by fans giving him the bird.
Luke the Nuke stormed to a fourth nightly win in seven weeks at Newcastle ’s Utilita Arena, where Geordie punters initially booed his walk-on based on partisan football allegiances. But once he started hammering in 180s like a carpenter with a nail gun, the gallery – including Newcastle United hero Dan Burn – had swung behind Littler long before he crushed Luke Humphries 6-1 in a final overshadowed by fatigue.
His Nukeship admitted he felt so tired before his Lukes of Hazard ‘derby’ with Humphries that he didn’t even want to climb the stairs on to the stage. But at the halfway mark of his Premier League defence, 18-year-old Littler’s stats are eye-watering.
Four nightly wins (already equalling the record)
Eight points clear at the top
18-4 aggregate in legs in his three wins on Thursday night
Just 36 minutes playing time to beat Stephen Bunting, Rob Cross and Humphries
And Littler has hit 102 maximum 180s in the tournament to date – more than double his nearest rival Humphries (50).
He is relaxed about the mixed reception from the bawdy, rock ’n’ roll crowds – and as a Manchester United fan, he knows the welcome committee in Liverpool on April 24 could be noisy.
But he said: “I always want to put on a show for the fans week in, week out. The banter’s always going to be there as a United fan going to the likes of Newcastle. We’ve got Liverpool coming up, Leeds is coming up – but they are the ones that I most look forward to most.
“Yeah, the fans will always boo you if you’re in those places, but as soon as you’re hitting the 180s, that’s when they start to like me a bit more. I always say to myself when you face these crowds, just expect the worst. And if it is actually worse than I expected, so let’s just go on with the darts.”
Before start of play in Newcastle, Littler was presented with his £30,000 set of solid 18-carat gold arrows by the title sponsor for hitting a nine-darter in Brighton earlier this month.
The young rascal wants to throw them in competition, and he laughed: “I think they are throwable, but the people at BetMGM were like: You can’t throw them. And I was just thinking in my head: Yeah, I’m throwing them!”
Littler’s latest tour de force included his 12th win in 14 meetings with Rob Cross and his third win against world No.1 Humphries in four Premier League games this year. Only Gerwyn Price, who has won six in a row against The Nuke, does not appear to be dazzled in the headlights of Littler’s blitz through the record books.
And he admitted there is an aura about his performances with echoes of Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, who used to rule the oche like invincible emperors.
He said: “When I’m playing certain players, I know when I’ve got them and it does show. Luke Humphries, he shows a bit too much (emotion).
“And as a player, you’re like: All right, he’s hit a 60 or a 41 and he’s not happy about it. And then his next throw, he’ll hit the same score, so you just have to pounce. I don’t like being on the losing side. People are calling Gezzy a bogey player, but most of the time, he’s performed a lot better than me. That’s all there is to it.”
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