JAMES WADE paid tribute to Luke Littler after the world champion turned on the style at the UK Open.
The Machine, 41, had no answer as The Nuke romped to an 11-2 victory in the final to pocket £110,000 in prize money.
GettyJames Wade had nothing but praise for Luke Littler after his UK Open final defeat[/caption]
GettyThe Nuke thrashed the 41-year-old to secure the title for the first time[/caption]
ITVWade was involved in a bizarre dispute with Luke Humphries earlier in the day[/caption]
Wade’s loss came following a bizarre bust-up with World No. 1 Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals.
Humphries appeared to be LICKED by Wade on stage before the veteran secured a memorable 10-9 win.
Cool Hand later blasted Wade in a now-deleted tweet, raging he “didn’t deserve respect” after the bad-tempered contest ended with a snubbed handshake.
But when it came to the final, the Surrey slinger had nothing but high-praise for a scintillating Littler, who averaged 101.51.
Wade said: “I played well in the semi-finals, but in the final Luke just blew me away.
“I’m the senior dart player, but he absolutely smashed me to bits!
“What can you do against that? He was the far superior player. Fair play to Luke.
“At the moment, he is comfortably the best or second best dart player in the world.”
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Littler, the reigning world champion, tore through the tournament after a scare in the first round against Peter Wright.
The 18-year-old said: “This is a tournament I really wanted to win.
“It’s my third time at the UK Open. I came here as a 16-year-old a couple of years ago.
“I made the quarter-finals last year, and now I’ve gone three better this year to win it! I had a job to do tonight.
“I just wanted to pick up the trophy, and it’s one that I can tick off the list now.”
Outspoken Wade has previously claimed he doesn’t believe “the standard is all that great” at the top level of darts.
Premier League Darts 2025: Dates and venues
Night 1 – Belfast: Humphries beat Dobey 6-1
Night 2 – Glasgow: Littler beat Humphries 6-5
Night 3 – Dublin: Price beat Aspinall 6-3
Night 4 – Exeter: Humphries beat Littler 6-4
Night 5 – The Brighton Centre – Thursday March 6
Night 6 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – Thursday March 13
Night 7 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff – Thursday March 20
Night 8 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle – Thursday March 27
Night 9 – Uber Arena, Berlin – Thursday April 3
Night 10 – AO Arena, Manchester – Thursday April 10
Night 11 – Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam – Thursday April 17
Night 12 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool – Thursday April 24
Night 13 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham, Thursday May 1
Night 14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds – Thursday May 8
Night 15 – P&J Live, Aberdeen – Thursday May 15
Night 16 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday May 22
Play-Offs – The O2, London – Thursday May 29
Wade told Sky Sports earlier this month: “When the easier games are coming my way when I should be doing something, I’m not performing.
“But it seems to be my timing is awful at the moment and that’s what I need to get right.
“I don’t think the standard is particularly great at the moment. The high end is good but it’s not what I feel people are talking about.
“There’s opportunities there and there’s lots of players not taking them.
“I’m contradicting what I want to say now because I was trying to be polite… I don’t think it’s what it’s hyped up to be.”
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