Luke Littler claimed his first night victory of the season, defeating home favourite Jonny Clayton 6-4 to win Night Five in Cardiff.
Littler entered the week seventh in the eight-team standings after a slow start to the campaign. He survived an early scare in the quarter-final, edging past Josh Rock 6-4, then lifted his level in the semi-final against Gerwyn Price. Littler hit three ton-plus finishes in that match and sealed a 6-3 win with a 170 “Big Fish” checkout.
In the final the 19-year-old averaged 106.5 and hit 11 maximums. He produced his second 170 of the night and came agonisingly close to a nine-darter, missing double 15. He also lost the seventh leg despite throwing eight perfect darts, with Clayton holding throw in an 11-darter, but Littler broke back with an 80 checkout in the ninth and then held to take the title.
Littler is the fifth different nightly winner in the opening five weeks of the Premier League and moves up to third in the table on nine points. Clayton, who reached the final by beating Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, extends his lead despite finishing runner-up.
Earlier in the night Rock actually outscored Littler in the quarters — averaging 103.72 — but wayward finishing cost him the match. Michael van Gerwen fell out of the top four after a heavy 6-1 defeat to Luke Humphries; Humphries sits sixth after losing his semi-final to Clayton. Van Veen’s early exit leaves him five points off the top and drops him to fourth, level on nine points with Price and Littler. Josh Rock remains bottom on zero points after losing all five matches this season. Last week’s winner Stephen Bunting slid to seventh after a final-leg defeat to Price. Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle commented: “When Josh Rock gets something right, something else goes wrong… He will – it’s just a matter of how long it takes.”
Reflecting on his night, Littler told Sky Sports: “The table looks good. It wasn’t looking good in seventh. But it just goes to show, tonight I think I had to focus on myself. Tonight, I’ve done really well and I’m proud of myself. I said in my pre-match interview, every week I felt good, but I’ve just not shown it. Even practising, I’ve been playing well. I’m just glad tonight I could take practice and bring it on to where that’s what I’ve done.”
What’s next: Night Six moves to the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. Josh Rock will have another chance for a first win against Stephen Bunting in the opening match. Clayton plays van Gerwen, Humphries faces van Veen, and Littler meets Price in a repeat of their Cardiff semi-final. Watch Night Six live on Thursday March 12 from 7pm on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports+.