LUKE LITTLER maintained his 100 per cent Grand Slam of Darts record.
But he missed out on a history-making nine-darter.
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The Nuke topped Group F with a 5-3 win over Filipino Lourence Ilagan at a packed house in Wolverhampton.
Littler, 17, averaged 102.05 to secure his third ton-plus average from the group stages.
He had raced into a rapid 2-0 lead but was pegged back as Ilagan levelled it up.
However, Littler got back on track then he took out a brilliant 130 with a Bull finish to seal an emphatic 12-dart leg for 4-2 then orchestrated the crowd with his darts.
At 4-2, he deliberately left 170 for the Big Fish – but was left with a wry smile when his opponent nailed a brilliant 148 checkout.
The tournament favourite could have sealed victory with a perfect leg but missed double 12 in leg eight before eventually stumbling over the line in the same leg after Ilagan missed tops.
In the end, Littler managed to get one over Asia’s No1 star as he marched into the last 16 of this TV darts major where he will face either Michael Smith or Mike De Decker.
Since January, the Warrington teen has celebrated four nine-darters and getting one more before the end of the year would be a record.
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Littler, 17, said: “I was relaxed. I knew I had qualified.
“The important thing was to win and go three out of three in the group.
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“I felt dead relaxed and enjoyed that.
“I know if I do hit another one then it’s a record.
“I know if I play well, I can feel it coming. It didn’t go then – I’ll try again next time.”
Littler added: “I did quite a lot with the crowd because I knew I was through but in the next round I’ll need to focus on the game. I’ll always get the crowd involved.
“I just thought to myself, ‘Let’s have some fun.’
In Group G, Gary Anderson thumped 5–2 transgender player Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who lost all three games.
But Michael van Gerwen was dumped out following a shock 5-4 defeat to Ryan Joyce.
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Inside Littler’s massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
