Luke Littler didn’t look short of practice as he romped to Bahrain Masters glory on Friday, lifting his maiden senior PDC title. But after defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final, the 16-year-old sensation revealed that he hadn’t practised at the oche since his memorable World Darts Championship run.
Littler was incredible at The Dome. He hit a nine-darter in his first leg of the evening on his way to beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
The teenager then thumped Gerwyn Price 7-3 in the semi-finals after the Welshman defeated the world No. 1 Luke Humphries earlier in the night.
He sealed the silverware in his first World Series of Darts outing by dispatching the three-time world champion 8-5.
Littler hadn’t been in action before his first-round 6-3 victory against Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung on Thursday since his World Darts Championship final defeat to Humphries on January 4.
However, upon receiving his first senior PDC trophy, he claimed he hadn’t even practised in between the two tournaments.
“No one probably believes it, but I’ve not thrown a dart since the world final. And yesterday, that was the first proper practice I’ve put in,” Littler revealed after the final.
“But it’s all paid off, and I’m just happy to win, obviously, against Michael [Van Gerwen]. He’s still one of the best, he’s the very best, and I’m just happy to win on my debut.”
Littler expressed his delight to start the year with a bang, and has stressed that he is staying grounded for the rest of 2024.
“I’m happy to win. Earlier on, in the quarters, obviously, I hit the nine [dart finish] against Nathan [Aspinall], but I played well yesterday, and I played well again tonight.
“It’s been unbelievable this week. You’ve got us eight in the Premier League, and all eight Asian qualifiers were brilliant as well. I’m happy to come out as the winner.”
