Luke Littler is up to second in the Premier League table after securing his first Premier League Night win in Belfast; He beat Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries for the victory; watch the Premier League Darts every Thursday night live on Sky Sports
By Megan Wellens, Digital Sports Journalist @MegWellensX
Luke Littler fought back against Nathan Aspinall to claim his first Premier League night victory in Belfast.
Aspinall took command at first as he won three legs in a row to go into a 3-1 lead.
However, Littler – who beat Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen to reach the final – fought back with two breaks of throw and a brilliant 125 checkout with two bullseyes to go 5-3 up after sealing four legs in a row.
Aspinall stayed in the fight and broke back but the 17-year-old sensation stood firm, clinching a break of throw and the 6-4 win on D5, his first in his debut year on the roadshow.
A look back at the best of the action from Night 9 of the Premier League in Belfast.
After his win, Littler admitted he has been experimenting with his throw and has been putting in more practice which has paid off.
“I’m happy to win, it’s my first one,” he told Sky Sports.
“But as people may have seen, I’ve changed my throw to just take that little bit of extra time and then release the next two.
Luke Littler discusses how he is feeling after his first ever Premier League victory and explains some of the changes he made for Night 9 that helped him seal a win.
“I’ve put more practice in, and it’s paid off.
“Sometimes I’m rushing and then obviously I put more practice in tonight and it’s paid off. You take that little bit more time before I release my next dart.
“I had a good practice game with Rob Cross before we came out tonight, we both had over 100 average, and I said to Rob ‘cheers for the game’. But it got me up for it and I practised well and I’m glad I brought it on here.”
Luke Littler jokingly starts searching for his dart that flew above double 20.
Littler put in a commanding performance against Van Gerwen to seal his spot in the final, keeping the budding rivalry going with a 6-3 win.
Averaging just under a ton, Littler found a break of throw plus a sensational 110 checkout to end MVG’s hopes of a fourth night win with a clutch D12.
Luke Littler is through to the Belfast final following a 6-3 victory over Michael Van Gerwen.
Littler also brought Humphries’ Premier League winning streak to an end with a thrilling 6-5 win over the world No 1.
With a 102 average, Littler held his nerve in the deciding leg to pin D10 and seal a huge win, leaving Humphries to wait for his first victory over the 17-year-old since the World Darts Championship final.
Luke Littler edges past Luke Humphries to put an end to the world champion’s Premier League winning streak.
Aspinall put in a convincing win over Peter Wright to book his spot against Littler in the Belfast showdown.
Two breaks of throw, plus a brilliant 121 checkout, saw the Asp take clear control and a 6-2 win was stylishly sealed on the bull.
Nathan Aspinall checks out 121 to extend his lead against Peter Wright.
Aspinall stayed strong in his quarter-final to claim a 6-5 victory over Gerwyn Price.
After the Asp took a 5-3 lead with a break of throw and 127 checkout, the Iceman rallied to bring scores level before Aspinall remained calm under pressure to seal a semi-final spot.
Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall show the talent between them as they hit back-to-back ton plus checkouts.
Wright gets a crucial win as MVG fights back
Elsewhere in the other quarter-finals, Van Gerwen fought from 4-2 down and put in a brilliant spell of darts to clinch a 6-4 victory over Michael Smith.
Michael van Gerwen’s dominant display against Michael Smith put him into the semi-final against Luke Littler.
A 144 checkout, break of throw, then a brilliant 150 to seal the win showed the Green Machine back at his best.
Michael Van Gerwen checks out 144 against Michael Smith, similarly to what he did last week against Luke Littler.
Wright got a big win for his Premier League tally as he saw out a 6-3 victory over Rob Cross to book a semi-final place against Aspinall.
After Snakebite took a 5-2 lead, Cross fought back to bring the score to 5-3 but Wright held his nerve to see out the game on D9.
What’s next?
Premier League Darts now heads to the AO Arena in Manchester for Night 10 of the action on Thursday April 4.
Night 10 will see Nathan Aspinall vs Rob Cross start the night before Luke Littler faces Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith takes on Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price is up against Peter Wright.
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Premier League Darts continues on Sky Sports on Thursday April 4 as Manchester is the next stop on the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday, May 23. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
