Luke Littler had to be rescued by security after being grabbed by a fan before his Premier League clash with Michael van Gerwen in Belfast. The 17-year-old was high-fiving fans on his way to the stage when his wrist was grabbed, with the man in question seemingly refusing to let go.
One security guard who was following Littler during his walk-in then had to intervene to get Littler away from the spectator. Clearly irate, the ‘Nuke’ appeared to be shaking his head and cursing as he held his wrist on his way to the oche.
Darts fans spotted the misdemeanour, with @paulxx6 noting: “Luke Littler looks hurt after that fan yanked his wrist in the walk on. Let’s see how he performs now.” @SPorts_Critique added: “Think someone in the crowd grabbed Luke Littler’s hand during the walk on. He doesn’t look happy about it.”
There were no issues what once the action got underway though. Having already overcame Luke Humphries 6-5 in a thrilling clash, Littler was at his sublime best against ‘MVG’, sweeping him aside 6-3 to set up a chance for a first Premier League win.
And he duly took it, beating compatriot Nathan Aspinall 6-4 in the final, after the Englishman was too good for Peter Wright in his own last four clash. The victory takes Littler to second place in the able, four off leader Humphries.
The fans in Belfast created a raucous atmosphere from the off, and the decibel levels ramped up further after Littler and Humphries opened proceedings with their final leg thriller. And it says much of the temperament of the youngster that the flashpoint during his walk-in for his second match didn’t affect his focus.
“I’m happy to win, it’s my first one,” Littler said afterwards. “As people may have seen I changed my throw, but I’ve put more practice in and it has paid off.”
The rapport between the two finalists was evident, at one stage Littler actually motioned to the crowd to be quiet when Aspinall was throwing. “We get on very well,” he added.
“As soon as he won his semi-final I said ‘let’s go’. But I’m just happy to win my first final. I had a good practice game with Rob Cross before we came out tonight and that got me up for it.”
