Darts-Littler Makes History With Bahrain Nine-darter

Teenage sensation Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler made history in Bahrain on Friday by becoming the youngest player to throw a nine-darter in the World Series.

The Englishman, two days away from his 17th birthday, scored the perfect leg in his 6-3 quarter-final victory over fourth-seeded compatriot Nathan Aspinall at the Bahrain Darts Masters.

The only other player to throw a nine-darter — scoring 501 with the minimum number of darts — in the World Series, which started in 2013, was Phil Taylor.

Littler, who will play Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals, is playing his first tournament since his run to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship at London’s Alexandra Palace made rare headlines and turned him into an unlikely sporting hero.

World champion Luke Humphries ended a 20-game winning run by losing his quarter-final 6-4 to Price.

Littler’s nine-dart sequence was achieved by him throwing triple 20s with his first seven darts and then a treble 19 and a double 12. Aspinall then joined in the congratulations as the crowd erupted.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)