Darts in London
In the duel of the world champions: Littler is in the quarter-finals
Luke Littler delivers sets for the first time at this World Cup. In the end, he still celebrates his progress. The young star takes on the fans.
Defending champion Luke Littler is in the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship. The 18-year-old won the atmospheric duel with Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace and won 4-2 in the last game of the evening. The 2018 champion inflicted Littler’s first two set losses of the tournament and also had the chance to equalize 3-3.
The level of the game was high: both players reached the maximum number of 180 points a total of 24 times.
Littler argued with the audience at times and also appeared emotional on stage in the interview after the victory: “It doesn’t bother me,” he claimed and laughed: “You pay for tickets and you pay my prize money. Thank you for booing me.”
Ryan Searle was the first professional at this World Cup to make it into the round of the best eight players. He won 4-0 against his English compatriot James Hurrell. Searle, who has not yet given a set, had given German number one Martin Schindler no chance a round earlier.
dpa