LUKE Littler’s incredible week continued yesterday with another tournament win.
The Warringtonian teenager scooped his third Players Championship title of the year in Wigan, and his second PDC crown in the space of 48 hours having won the World Series of Darts Finals over the weekend.
A dramatic 8-7 victory in the final against Stephen Bunting extended the 17-year-old’s winning streak to 12 matches, with the St Helens man having provided admirable resistance to a previously untroubled Littler.
He battled back from 5-1 down to pull level at 5-5, but the former Padgate Academy pupil held his nerve to hold throw in the deciding leg to take the crown.
“I think I’ve played really well today,” reflected Littler, fresh from capturing his ninth PDC title of the season as he bids for a 10th title in the 21st Players Championship tournament today.
“I came here with lots of confidence after winning in Amsterdam. I couldn’t quite believe how well I played there.
“I’ve really enjoyed myself today. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had on the ProTour since the first one I won, and I cannot wait for tomorrow now.”
Littler dominated a star-studded 128-player field to claim glory, kicking off his campaign with victories over Adam Gawlas, Jacques Labre and Andrew Gilding.
The teenage phenom averaged 104 to dispatch Kevin Doets 6-2 in the last 16, and he defeated world number one Luke Humphries by the same scoreline in the quarter-finals, as both men averaged 101 in a quality contest.
Littler backed this up with a 7-2 demolition of top seed Dave Chisnall in the last four, and he claimed the scalp of another St Helens star in Bunting to walk away with the title.
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