‘I was ready to pack up’ – Luke Littler relieved after surviving nailbiter to WIN European Tour Darts debut
LUKE LITTLER produced a late comeback to beat Jose de Sousa in the first round of the European Tour.
The teenager trailed 5-4 but won the final two legs to seal his place in the next round.
Littler, 17, played well throughout and achieved an impressive average of 101.86.
He also produced a 121 checkout but found himself trailing after failing to find the doubles - not for the first time this week.
The Warrington wonderkid was beaten by Michael Smith in Premier League Darts on Thursday after missing chances to close out legs.
After the match Littler admitted it is an area of his game that requires improvement.
He said: "That's what's weakest in my game, my doubles, I can't seem to hit them.
"I opened my case, I was ready to pack up and go offstage."
Littler was very close to packing up as De Sousa had a chance to seal a 6-4 victory.
But his dart narrowly missed its target and instead found a different double - much to the Portuguese's frustration.
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Against Smith Littler incredibly missed his first eight doubles of the match and ending the tie with an average of just 95.27.
It was a shock performance from the youngster after he had breezed past his friend and training partner Nathan Aspinall, winning 6-3.