Luke Littler made light work of Jermaine Wattimena during their quarter-final clash as he registered a record victory to book a last four spot with the sport’s most high profile tournament just around the corner
Luke Littler hammered Jermaine Wattimena 16-2 to record the biggest ever last eight win at the Grand Slam of Darts.
The teenage sensation landed huge check-outs of 164 and 167 as he continued to pour on the punishment for his opponent, who was quickly out of sight. Across the match he produced four ton finishes as the 17-year-old averaged 105.11 and won the last eight legs to ensure there was never any danger of a comeback.
Littler also proiduced maximums in the first eight legs, even getting eight shots into a nine-darter in just the second leg. He produced a crowd pleasing checkout that saw him finish with the bull – following a brief pause to decide on his route.
His stellar showing meant he needed less than 28 minutes to wrap up the win as he enjoyed a 62 percent success rate when hitting doubles. All of this coming ahead of the World Darts Championship next month.
Littler said: “I felt very confident coming into tonight. I played so well. I’m so happy. Fair play to Jermaine. I was too good tonight. When you’re playing that good you feel [a nine-darter] coming every time. Every time I go for a 180 the crowd expects it. As a player you do feel it coming and hopefully it does come.”
The win sees Littler move into the world top 16, but the 17-year-old insists his rapid rise is down to him turning up and producing in the biggest tournaments.
“It just goes to show how well I’ve played in the ranking tournaments,” he added. “I’ve got myself in the top 16 now. I’ve looked ahead and if I win this competition I go to number five. I’m just looking at the semi-final tomorrow.”
Littler will now take on Gary Anderson – facing the Scot for the first time after he beat Gian van Veen. Anderson joked that he may have to resort to violence if he is to stop The Nuke making the final.
“I watched the [Littler] game. It was fantastic, wasn’t it? We were sitting upstairs watching it,” he said. “Luke was tonight, different gravy. I might just give him a hard kick in the shins before I come on.”
It has been almost a year since Littler burst onto the darts scene with some stellar performances at Ally Pally. Unknown by the majority, the teenager went on to make the final in London but lost to Luke Humphries. Nevertheless his potential was obvious and he’s enjoyed a landmark year.
