Luke Littler survives scare to beat TRUCK DRIVER and reach quarter-finals of New Zealand Darts Masters

LUKE LITTLER sealed his place in the New Zealand Darts Masters quarters with a hard-fought win over truck driver Jonny Tata.

The Premier League champ, 17, dismantled his opponent in nine legs with a 6-3 score in front of a raucous Kiwi crowd.

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Littler looked as cool as a cucumber despite coming off the back of last week’s Aussie Masters final defeat to Gerwyn Price.

He showed his skill by immediately hitting two 180s with his first six darts.

But Tata fired back to level at 2-2 as Littler began to miss his doubles.

A wobble looked to be on the cards before Littler pulled through to go 3-2 up on Tata’s throw.

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The Brit then restored his two-leg lead as Tata missed the chance to level things up again.

But the local lad checked out on 155 to pull a leg back for 4-3.

However, Tata could not stop Littler from getting a fifth leg.

And Littler blitzed the final passage to seal a 6-3 victory.

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Speaking before the match, Littler had vowed to overcome the jet lag he suffered Down Under and get back to winning ways.

Littler said: “It’s been a great experience coming to Australia and New Zealand and meeting all the fans.

“I’ve struggled to adjust my sleeping pattern so I’ve felt a bit tired at times, but I’ll be well rested for Friday.

“I want to end the trip with a bang and hopefully go one better than last week.”

Earlier in the day, world champion Luke Humphries booked a spot in tomorrow’s last eight with a 6-3 win over Kayden Milne.

There were also emphatic wins for Peter Wright, Michael Smith, Dimitri van den Bergh and Welshman Price on Friday.

But defending champ Rob Cross was taken all the way as he narrowly beat Haupai Puha 6-5 in a thriller.

Inside Littler's massive rise

LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship.

The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age - smashing records along the way.

He has since joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.

And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.

The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.

He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.

And he's even the face of a brand new cereal.

The wonderkid has now cemented his place among the tungsten elite by winning the Premier League Darts final - and the £275k top prize.

Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.