Luke Littler was seen off by Rob Cross in Exeter as the teenager fell one match short of reaching the night’s Premier League Darts final. ‘The Nuke’ benefitted from a bizarre stroke of luck early in the contest but still lost 6-3, as ‘Voltage’ set up an enticing showdown against Nathan Aspinall.
Littler was fancied to enjoy a deep run down south after demolishing Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith 6-2 in the quarter-final, averaging just shy of 107 in the process. Smith, who also averaged over a ton, was no match for the 17-year-old when he found his rhythm.
But Cross turned out to be a formidable opponents, firing an early warning shot to ‘The Nuke’ by thumping Gerwyn Price 6-1. Sure enough, Cross raced into a two-leg lead when he and Littler took to the stage in the semis.
Littler then appeared to have good fortune on his side as he began to fight back, as a dart bound for the treble 20 took a huge deflection, but instead of nestling into the one or the five, it shifted all the way across to the treble 19.
The 54 points gained proved to be invaluable for Littler, who was perplexed by his stroke of luck, as his next turn saw him take out 52 to halve the deficit and make it 2-1.
“That is a sickening deflection where Rob Cross is concerned,” said Sky Sports commentator Dan Dawson. “That is disgusting.”
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