IT'S NOT A BULLS LIE!
Luke Littler makes stunning admission after winning Bahrain Masters and admits ‘no one believes me’
No practice makes perfect as whizkid triumphs on pro debut
LUKE LITTLER hit a record nine-darter as he blitzed to darts glory on his senior pro debut — without even PRACTISING.
Two days before his 17th birthday, the boy wonder demolished former world champions Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen to win the Bahrain Darts Masters.
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It followed a magical perfect leg in the quarters with Nathan Aspinall — becoming the youngest man to achieve the feat on TV.
Luke the Nuke, 16, asked: “What have I done? You tell me. I don’t know. I’m happy to win.
“Earlier on in the quarters, I hit the nine-darter against Nathan. I played well tonight.”
Littler had laid down his darts after losing to Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on January 3.
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He added: “No one probably believes me but I have not thrown a dart since. Thursday was the first proper practice I have put in.
“It has all paid off. Michael is still one of the best. He is the very best. I’m just happy to win on my debut.
“It has been unbelievable. I haven’t really set any goals. I didn’t expect to pick up this trophy.”
Littler’s perfect opening leg of his 6-3 win over pal Aspinall made him the youngest player to throw a nine-darter in senior competition.
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The previous record had been held by Dutchman Van Gerwen at 17 years and 10 months.
Only Littler and Phil Taylor — in Sydney in 2015 — have celebrated a nine darter in the 12-year history of the World Series of Darts event.
The world youth champion banked £20,000 for the 8-5 triumph over MVG, which represents his maiden pro title at his FIRST ATTEMPT.
In the semi-finals, he cast aside Price 7-3, marking in a superb 170 Big Fish checkout with some showboating.
Littler will now head to next week’s Dutch Darts Masters full of confidence ahead of the 17-week Premier League.
World No 2 Van Gerwen, 34, said: “It’s never going to be a good week when Michael is not wining. Simple as that.
“He had a fantastic tournament. I couldn’t produce what I was doing in the early games.
“You can only punish yourself for that. That is how sport works.”
No 1 seed Humphries lost for the first time in 21 games as he was bundled out of the last-eight 6-4 by Price.
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