LUKE LITTLER missed out on a record fifth nightly Premier League Darts win after suffering a 6-5 loss to Stephen Bunting in Rotterdam.
The 18-year-old found himself 5-2 down after seven legs but managed to fight back and take it to a decider.
With a 138 checkout up for grabs, he missed the double-nine with his third dart, instead kissing the wire and gifting his opponent a golden opportunity to win.
Bunting grabbed that chance with both hands, hitting the treble 18 and double eight to book his place in the final.
Prior to his semi-final meeting with the Bullet, Littler survived a scare against Rob Cross in the fourth match of the evening.
With the score at 5-5 in the deciding leg, the Nuke managed a treble 19 followed by a treble 16 before completing the 145-checkout with his favoured double 20 to win the match.
Meanwhile, Bunting knocked out hometown hero Michael van Gerwen to earn his place in the second round – despite receiving boos from the Dutch crowd.
The Bullet got through the quarter-final with a 99.76 average in comparison to the Dutchman’s 89.86 average.
And he bettered that in the semi-final against Littler, managing 106.43 across the 11 legs.
Bunting went on to meet Chris Dobey in the Rotterdam final – a clash between two players outside of the play-off places.
Dobey was the man to win, easing past his opponent with a score of 6-2 and a 101.84 average.
It was his first Premier League Darts nightly victory in over two years.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”More than half of Brits think darts is NOT a sport despite meteoric rise of Luke Littler, new research reveals ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6371269838112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Speaking after the final, Dobey said: “It feels great, back in the winners’ circle. I knew I could do it, just about performing on the night.
“I’m a fighter, I’ve came through big matches where I’ve been cruising and ended up losing to get back among the elite. I’m here to win. I’ll be here until the end.
“I learnt playing local stuff with my dad, he never let me win and it’s that old stubborn mindset. A lot of people would have given up.”
