Mensur Suljovic wanted to throw Luke Littler off the stage. However, the world champion gave an impressive answer to this announcement. This is exactly how Suljovic prevents the greatest possible embarrassment. The Austrian is then concerned with the allegations made by Joe Cullen.
Given the history, Luke Littler had prepared himself for the worst. “No matter whether it’s the player you’re playing against or the audience – you always have to assume the worst. If it’s not as bad as you thought, I’m happy about it,” said the reigning darts world champion before his game against Mensur Suljovic to Sky Sports.
The attitude seemed exactly right, after all his opponent had caused one of the tournament’s controversies. With his provocatively slow game and his exuberant celebrations, Suljovic had so unnerved his second-round opponent Joe Cullen that he not only lost the game but also his head. The Englishman then even spoke of “fraud” and did not back down from it in the English press days later. More on that later.
First of all, the question arose as to which version of Suljovic Littler should face in the third round of the Darts World Cup. The game was unable to provide an answer. Littler didn’t allow Suljovic to create positive moments and celebrate them extensively. The Austrian had grandly announced that he wanted to throw Littler off the stage. It was he who was simply swept away by the world champion.
In the first two sets he played a good 98 average, but didn’t have a double field in a single attempt. Littler’s performance was so dominant that Suljovic could only acknowledge it with a grin when he left the stage at the second break, completely shaken. Littler averaged 108.65 points at this point.
Leg wins rewarded with Mensur-Suljovic chants
Only in the eighth leg of the game did Suljovic avoid the greatest possible embarrassment, a defeat without winning a leg of his own. He had his first chance at a double and used them to equalize in the third set. Once again, a deep grin crossed his face, which he combined with self-ironic cheers from the audience. His opponent smiled with him for the briefest of seconds.
The fact that Suljovic was now on the scoreboard did not result in any changes to the course of the game. He did win a few legs, which were rewarded with Mensur-Suljovic chants from the fans at Alexandra Palace. Littler, who made it public on Saturday that he had to undergo eye surgery as a child because he suffered from strabismus (cross-eye), but surfed comfortably towards an unchallenged victory with a 107 average – a world championship record for Littler. When the score was 4-0, Suljovic once again only had one thing left: a grin.
“To be honest, I think he just enjoyed being up there,” Littler said, when asked about his opponent’s body language. “I had a job to do. Mensur can be proud of his tournament.” Suljovic seemed to share the assessment. He praised Littler highly at DAZN: “He’s the world champion, he’s a good darts player. He doesn’t complain about anything, plays his game. Absolutely respect.” Other players should learn a lesson from Littler. “No blah blah, I don’t like that at all. I also talk a lot, but these guys talk with their darts,” Suljovic continued.
Then he came back to what had been in the room in the last few days: the accusations of his previous opponent Cullen. “This statement: cheater, criminal. What kind of guy is this? What should I say about him now?” asked Suljovic. “We’ve been at it for years, but what is this statement? I didn’t do anything to him. I was happy, okay, maybe my mistake. But I was watching: every player is happy.” He followed up with a direct address to Cullen: “Joe, I wish you and your family the best – from the bottom of my heart. I never provoked, I never did anything wrong. Whatever you have in your head, keep it to yourself. It’s your own fault.”
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While things still fell out between Suljovic and Cullen, things remained harmonious with Littler. The 18-year-old Englishman also thought that Suljovic played faster than expected. “I liked that. It was like that when we were brawling backstage. I just thought to myself: ‘Keep it that way, Mensur'”. He tried to adapt to Suljovic’s style of play, didn’t rush towards the board at high speed as usual and drank a lot of water.
A tactic that worked. Littler remains without losing a set during the tournament – and given his performance, he is the big favorite for the title. Especially since there had previously been the next favorite shock. Stephen Bunting, number four in the world, was eliminated early. Visibly distressed on stage, he lost 3-4 to James Hurrell, number 63 in the world. “Great, the biggest victory of my life,” said Hurrell, summing up his feelings.
The result for the German one, Martin Schindler, is supposedly good news. He would now face Hurrell in a round of 16 instead of top star Bunting. “I just got number four out of the way. I’m not worried,” Hurrell said of the next possible opponent. Before that, Schindler first has to get Ryan Searle out of the way on Sunday (1.45 p.m./Sport1 and DAZN).
Darts World Cup 2026, results 3rd round
Wesley Plaisier (NED) – Krzysztof Ratajski (POL) 3:4
Andrew Gilding (ENG) – Luke Woodhouse (ENG/25) 1:4
Jonny Clayton (WAL/5) — Niels Zonneveld (NED) 4:3
from 8:15 p.m.:
Andreas Harrysson (SWE) – Ricardo Pietreczko (D) 4:2
Stephen Bunting (ENG/4) – James Hurrell 3:4
Luke Littler (ENG/1) – Mensur Suljovic (AUT) 4:0
Luca Wiecek is sports editor for WELT. He will be reporting from Alexandra Palace in London until New Year’s Eve.
