GERWYN PRICE dumped Luke Littler out of the Players Championship 2 before celebrating a rare title.
The Iceman claimed his first ranking success since November 2023 by beating Chris Dobey 8-7 in the final in Wigan.
Luke Littler crashed out to eventual winner Gerwyn PriceGetty
Price beat Chris Dobey in an epic finalRex
He sank The Nuke 6-5 in the quarters.
Price, 39, said: “I’m getting back to my best. Sometimes I roll over, have my belly tickled.
“It is nice to get a win under my belt.”
Yet the Welshman’s stats were well behind Dobey’s
Price only notched a singe 180 and averaged 99.58, while the Englishman picked up three maximums on the way to an average of 101.83.
There was a high for Beau Greaves, 21, as she won her first Pro Tour game against a top male as she beat Josh Rock.
There Players Championship has 34 events this year, with the finals scheduled for November 21-23 at Minehead.
Meanwhile, Littler has shrugged off his loss – revealing he will QUIT playing when his hunger to win fades.
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The 18-year-old told the Tops and Tales Darts Podcast: “Michael (van Gerwen) said this in a different interview – once the fire goes out your belly, there’s just no point in playing.
“So if I say I’m going to continue playing darts for 30 years, well I could wake up tomorrow morning, the fire’s gone out of my belly, and I wanna retire.”
Littler added: “I probably won’t be playing at 50. It’s just the way the sport’s going. It’s just growing, growing and growing.
“But yeah, obviously the one thing I do want to do, and I’ve said it numerous times, is win one of every major at least once.”
Inside Littler’s massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has then gone on to win a host of PDC events and the Premier League title – which he claimed at the O2 Arena by beating world champion Luke Humphries in May.
He also finished his first season in the World Series as the No1 ranked player.
He has joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
But he is newly single after splitting from girlfriend Eloise Milburn following a 10-month relationship.
Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.
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