Luke Littler reached a third successive World Darts Championship final on Thursday night as the reigning world champion beat Ryan Searle 6-1 in the semi-final
Luke Littler has stormed into his third consecutive World Darts Championship final, defeating Ryan Searle 6-1 in the semi-final.
‘The Nuke’ was on fire at the Ally Pally stage, averaging 105.43 and hitting 10 180s to secure a comfortable victory, despite losing the opening set. Both players started off evenly matched, with the first two sets going with the throw as they sought to find their rhythm on stage.
The game’s momentum shifted when Littler broke Searle to win the third set after ‘Heavy Metal’ botched his setup, failing to hit the bullseye and only managing the outer bull. Littler capitalised on this mistake, checking out on tops to take control of the match.
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Littler then dominated the next two sets, powering towards the final with an average over 100 in all five opening sets, including an impressive 109.98 in the fourth set. ‘The Nuke’ continued his strong performance, winning another set without dropping a leg while maintaining an average of 104.86.
The first leg of the following leg saw Littler go eight darts into the perfect leg, but lost the leg as Searle reeled in the Big Fish with a timely 170 checkout. Unfazed by the reception, the world No. 1 acknowledged the crowd as he made his way onto the stage.
Littler has courted controversy after criticising the crowd for booing him during and after his last 16 triumph over Rob Cross. In a post-match interview, ‘The Nuke’ sarcastically expressed gratitude to the fans for “paying for” his prize money.
Littler’s rise in the sport has significantly contributed to the increase in the winners’ prize money to £1million this year. Littler is set to face off against the victor of the match between Gary Anderson and Gian van Veen in Saturday’s final.
“It’s going to be a brilliant game,” said Littler on the other semi-final. “I don’t mind who I play. They’re both good lads but yeah, whoever hits their doubles first wins that match.”
