There was no nine-darter this time, after the historic feat during Littler’s opening match in Bahrain last time out, but he has no grand expectations about this tournament. “It would be a massive bonus to win again, but if I do lose, then it’s back home and focus on Cardiff for the Premier League,” Littler said on Thursday.
“I said I’d take a slow start and then I hit a nine-darter in my first leg. It is always a bonus. I was just glad to get over the line against Nathan (Aspinall), Gezzy (Gerwyn Price) and Michael (Van Gerwen) to get the gold palm tree (the Bahrain Palm D’Or).
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to beat them, but I believe in my own ability and that’s what gets me over the line each time. It was a good experience in Bahrain. It was totally different to Ally Pally. I said you can hear everything in the crowd but I blocked it off as best as I could.”
