Charlie Wood
Luke Littler secured his third nightly win of the season in Cardiff, producing a stunning nine-darter on his way to beating Michael Van Gerwen 6-4.
This success extends his lead at the top of the standings to six points, putting him in a commanding position to qualify for Finals Night and defend his title.
Over all three games of the night, ‘The Nuke’ averaged in excess of 100, reaffirming his dominance against world-class opposition.
In leg three of the final, having already hit four maximums, the teenager produced the perfect leg to send the Utilita Arena into a frenzy.
His unconventional route, using T17 and D15 instead of the traditional T19 and D12, saw Litter replicate the efforts of Rob Cross and Luke Humphries from Night Five in Brighton.
Aided by his perfect leg, Littler posted a staggering 112 average in his magnificent display.
Credit should be given to Van Gerwen, who fought back to tie the match at 3-3, despite the blistering pace of the World Champion.
However, a missed dart at D16 proved costly, as Littler clinically held his throw to seal victory.
I have put myself in a really good position
After the game, Littler said: ‘I have been playing very well.” “I have not picked my darts up since last Thursday, I had a week off to chill, but to come here and win and be six points clear, I am comfortable.”
“I have put myself in a really good position [to qualify for finals night] and I do want to finish number 1.”
“Last year I didn’t want number 1, this year I want to try and stay there.”
LITTLER’S PATH TO VICTORY
Littler’s outstanding night began with a 6-3 triumph over Nathan Aspinall. Littler averaged 14 points more than his opponent, with relentless scoring power proving too much for ‘The Asp’.
A neat tops-tops finish and practice at D15, which was utilised effectively later in the night, epitomised an impressive performance.
In the semi-final, ’The Nuke’ exploded, averaging 107 in his 6-2 victory over Rob Cross.
Although Cross went 7 darts into the perfect leg, Littler’s momentum remained unshaken as he effortlessly produced big scores.
A Shanghai finish on the 20s booked his spot in his fifth nightly final of 2025.
In the other semi-final, Michael Van Gerwen reached his first nightly final of the season, after a dominant 6-1 victory over Chris Dobey.
The tone was set early with Van Gerwen breaking the ‘Hollywood’ throw with ease, cooling checking out 112.
The second break of throw pushed ‘Mighty Mike’ into a 3-0, from which he never looked back.
Despite a nervy last leg in which he missed six darts for the match, Van Gerwen eventually sealed the emphatic victory that was secured with D1.
CROSS BEATS PRICE IN STYLE
Cross spoiled the Welsh party by beating last week’s winner Gerwyn Price 6-5.
Cross reeled in the ‘Big Fish’ to clinch victory
As ‘The Iceman’ was sat on D18 to book his place against Littler, Cross reeled in the ‘Big Fish’ to clinch victory.
Cross handled the crowd pressure well to race into an early 3-0 advantage.
However, a woeful attempt at closing out the match allowed a resurgent Price to push the contest to a deciding leg.
One missed match dart at D18 afforded ‘Voltage’ the chance for the biggest finish in the sport – and he took it in style.
The misery continues for Stephen Bunting, who fell to Dobey 6-2.
Pointless Bunting was ineffective on the outer ring, as ‘Hollywood’ limped into the semi-final.
Concerns will now mount for ‘The Bullet’ who would have targeted this game as a chance to ignite his Premier League campaign.
For Dobey, victory meant his first points on the board since Night One in Belfast.
Elsewhere, a superb game between two former World champions saw Luke Humphries succumb 6-4 to Van Gerwen.
With ‘The Green Machine’ poised on 25 to take the match, Humphries carelessly opted for two attempts at D20 with three darts in hand; a grave error that Van Gerwen duly punished on his next visit.
Charlie Wood
Featured image courtesy of Julian Hochgesang via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @officialpdc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.?
In article image 2 courtesy of @officialpdc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.?
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