[ad_1]

Luke Littler fought back against Nathan Aspinall to claim his first Premier League night victory in Belfast.

Aspinall took command at first as he won three legs in a row to go into a 3-1 lead.

However, Littler – who beat Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen to reach the final – fought back with two breaks of throw and a brilliant 125 checkout with two bullseyes to go 5-3 up after sealing four legs in a row.

Aspinall stayed in the fight and broke back but the 17-year-old sensation stood firm, clinching a break of throw and the 6-4 win on D5, his first in his debut year on the roadshow.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Luke Littler jokingly starts searching for his dart that flew above double 20.

After his win, Littler admitted he has been experimenting with his throw.

“I’m happy to win, it’s my first one,” he told Sky Sports.

“But as people may have seen, I’ve changed my throw to just take that little bit of extra time and then release the next two.

“I’ve put more practice in, and it’s paid off.

“Sometimes I’m rushing and then obviously I put more practice in tonight and it’s paid off. You take that little bit more time before I release my next dart.

“I had a good practice game with Rob Cross before we came out tonight, we both had over 100 average, and I said to Rob ‘cheers for the game’. But it got me up for it and I practised well and I’m glad I brought it on here.”

Results: Night Nine, SSE Arena, Belfast

Quarter-finals
Luke Littler 5-6 Luke Humphries
Michael Smith 4-6 Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Rob Cross 3-6 Peter Wright
Semi-finals
Luke Littler 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Peter Wright
Final
Luke Littler 6-4 Nathan Aspinall

Littler put in a commanding performance against Van Gerwen to seal his spot in the final, keeping the budding rivalry going with a 6-3 win.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Luke Littler is through to the Belfast final following a 6-3 victory over Michael Van Gerwen.

Averaging just under a ton, Littler found a break of throw plus a sensational 110 checkout to end MVG’s hopes of a fourth night win with a clutch D12.

Littler also brought Humphries’ Premier League winning streak to an end with a thrilling 6-5 win over the world No 1.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Luke Littler edges past Luke Humphries to put an end to the world champion’s Premier League winning streak.

With a 102 average, Littler held his nerve in the deciding leg to pin D10 and seal a huge win, leaving Humphries to wait for his first victory over the 17-year-old since the World Darts Championship final.

Aspinall put in a convincing win over Peter Wright to book his spot against Littler in the Belfast showdown.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Nathan Aspinall checks out 121 to extend his lead against Peter Wright.

Two breaks of throw, plus a brilliant 121 checkout, saw the Asp take clear control and a 6-2 win was stylishly sealed on the bull.

Aspinall stayed strong in his quarter-final to claim a 6-5 victory over Gerwyn Price.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall show the talent between them as they hit back-to-back ton plus checkouts.

After the Asp took a 5-3 lead with a break of throw and 127 checkout, the Iceman rallied to bring scores level before Aspinall remained calm under pressure to seal a semi-final spot.

Wright gets a crucial win as MVG fights back

Elsewhere in the other quarter-finals, Van Gerwen fought from 4-2 down and put in a brilliant spell of darts to clinch a 6-4 victory over Michael Smith.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Michael van Gerwen’s dominant display against Michael Smith put him into the semi-final against Luke Littler.

A 144 checkout, break of throw, then a brilliant 150 to seal the win showed the Green Machine back at his best.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Michael Van Gerwen checks out 144 against Michael Smith, similarly to what he did last week against Luke Littler.

Wright got a big win for his Premier League tally as he saw out a 6-3 victory over Rob Cross to book a semi-final place against Aspinall.

After Snakebite took a 5-2 lead, Cross fought back to bring the score to 5-3 but Wright held his nerve to see out the game on D9.

Fixtures: Night 10, AO Arena, Manchester, Thursday April 4

Quarter-finals
Nathan Aspinall vs Rob Cross
Luke Littler vs Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith vs Luke Humphries
Gerwyn Price vs Peter Wright

What’s next?

Premier League Darts now heads to the AO Arena in Manchester for Night 10 of the action on Thursday April 4.

Night 10 will see Nathan Aspinall vs Rob Cross start the night before Luke Littler faces Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith takes on Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price is up against Peter Wright.

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!

You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!

Sky Sports WhatsApp channel
Image:
Sky Sports WhatsApp channel

Find out more here…

Premier League Darts continues on Sky Sports on Thursday April 4 as Manchester is the next stop on the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday, May 23. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW

[ad_2]

Source link

By admin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *