LUKE LITTLER notched a nine-darter and his biggest ever pay-day as a PDC event winner – with Belgian Darts Open glory on his European Tour open.
The Warrington whizkid, 17, toppled Rob Cross 8-7 in what fans called an “unreal tie-beak final” – his sixth impressive victory of the tournament.
Luke Littler astonished even his biggest fans by winning n his European tour debut
Scooping the £30,000 top prize means Littler has won £273k in all over the past three months.
And it followed a controversial end to his semi-final where German opponent Ricardo Pietreczko labelled him “arrogant”.
Fans lapped up his storming finale against Cross – one viewer labelling him “genuinely remarkable”.
Incredibly, Littler has now hit nine-darters on the way to triumphant debuts in the World Series in Bahrain, ProTour in Wigan and Euros in Belgium.
This time perfection came in the 11th leg with a double 12 finish and also averaged 104.
He said: “I was just glad to get over the line. I hit the nine and then lost the next two legs. I dug in but I just was happy to get over the line.
“It’s always good to be involved in a good game. Like Rob said I bring the best out of him. Whenever we have battles we always push ourselves.”
On the nine-darter finish, he added: “I think 144 is better than the 141. If the first goes in, then you know the next one should. Then the double 12, glad to hit one.
“I know the spotlight is on me at the minute because I’ve done so well.”
Viewers called Littler‘s performance “naughty” and “nuts” as he pipped fellow Englishman Cross.
One darts lover claimed “I can’t speak! I can’t speak!” after seeing the teenager’s calm brilliance.
The thrilling end to Littler’s Belgian triumph contrasted with a puzzling finish to his 7-2 defeat of Pietreczko in his previous match.
The 29-year-old seemed to give Littler an ear-bashing.
But the world’s youngest ever World Championship finalist admitted he was bemused.
He posted on a darts Facebook group: “No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said. He said something then don’t do it again.”
Littler’s incredible debut success on the European Tour saw him notch 100-plus averages in five of his six matches.
He beat Jose de Sousa 6-5, Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3, Damon Heta 6-3, and Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 – ahead of his dramatic victories over Pietreczko and Cross.
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