Littler Triumphs As Brighton Sees Two Nine-darters
6 March 2025
Luke Littler won night five of the Premier League in Brighton on an evening which saw two nine-dart surfaces.
The 18-year-old declared his 2nd night triumph of the year with a 6-3 win in the last over Nathan Aspinall.
Defending champ Littler struck 5 180s as he triumphed once again, 4 days after surging James Wade 11-2 to win the UK Open.
"I've constantly been positive in my own capability, but the way my darts are going at the minute, it's probably the best I have actually ever used a consistent basis," Littler told Sky Sports.
World top Luke Humphries struck the first Premier League nine-darter of 2025 in the quarter-finals however was beaten by Rob Cross, who went on to seal his own best leg against Aspinall before losing a decider.
The pair both receive a set of strong gold darts, worth an estimated ₤ 30,000 each, from league sponsors BetMGM.
Littler's success sees him cut the gap on league leader Humphries to two points from 7, with the pair conference in Nottingham next week.
In a rematch of January's world last, where Littler become darts' youngest champion, he triumphed again in Brighton with a 6-2 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
The Dutchman, a seven-time Premier League champion, has yet to make a final in this year's competition.
All the action as it happened in Brighton
Humphries beats Littler to win Exeter last
27 February 2025
Humphries beaten in spite of nine-dart finish
Humphries struck the ideal leg with 2 180s before a 141 checkout to go 2-0 ahead against Cross.
But the 30-year-old, who was seeking his third nighttime win of the project, ended up losing 6-4 to his fellow Englishman.
It was the 17th best leg in the Premier League considering that its inception in 2005.
But 2018 world champion Cross struck 7 180s of his own and averaged 111.19 as he grabbed the triumph.
Littler was far from his best in his opener versus Chris Dobey, where he routed 5-4 before levelling and clinching the decider with a 110 surface.
Gerwyn Price paid the price for missing doubles as he went down 6-3 to Van Gerwen, while Stephen Bunting remains without a point after a fifth consecutive defeat, beaten 6-2 by Aspinall, who averaged 106.
Sky consistently apologised to viewers after their TV pictures eliminated at different stages during the early part of the evening.
Premier League Darts Night 5 results
Luke Littler 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen 2-6 Luke Littler
Rob Cross 5-6 Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price 3-6 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Littler 6-5 Chris Dobey
Rob Cross 6-4 Luke Humphries
Stephen Bunting 2-6 Nathan Aspinall
Premier League Darts is played throughout 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a last each night.
Each of the 8 gamers is ensured to face the other 7 in the quarter-finals in weeks 1-7 and 9-15, with the weeks 8 and 16 components done off the table. It suggests we will get 4th v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off areas possibly on the line.
Players make two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.
The four gamers after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 23 May, with very first facing fourth and second versus 3rd in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the very best of 21 legs, follows.
Premier League Darts Night 6 order of play
Nottingham, 13 March, 19:00 GMT
Luke Humphries v Luke Littler
Rob Cross v Chris Dobey
Stephen Bunting v Gerwyn Price
