Luke Littler didn’t look impressed with his performance against Rob Cross – despite winning five legs in a row to complete an incredible comeback.
Littler, 18, found himself 5-1 down to Cross in their Premier League Darts quarter-final clash. The contest looked a forgone conclusion before the teenage sensation, who won the 2025 PDC World Championship last month, showed just how good he really is.
Ending with a double 20 to clinch a dramatic 6-5 win, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow erupted. But Littler was noticeably subdued, shaking his head as he collected his darts from the board before having a brief conversation and shaking hands with Cross.
Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle said: “We are going to see amazing darts throughout this Premier League and amazing comebacks and we have seen one already. That was a memorable game.”
Littler, the Premier League title holder, went on to beat Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final before triumphing 6-5 over Luke Humphries in Wednesday’s final. His win earns him five points in the table, Humphries three and losing semi-finalists Van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price two each.
The top four in the table at the end of week 16 in the Premier League will make it into the play-offs, where two semi-finals and a final will be held. Litter’s performance came after he made interesting comments on when he plans to retire from darts, despite his tender age.
Speaking on the Top and Tales Darts podcast, the Warrington-born star said: “Michael said this in a different interview – once the fire goes out your belly, there’s just no point in playing. So if I say I’m going to continue playing darts for 30 years, well I could wake up tomorrow morning, the fire’s gone out of my belly, and I wanna retire.”
Who’ll win the 2025 Premier League? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Littler has certainly still got that fire and outlined what he’s got left to achieve, aiming to win each major at least once. “I probably won’t be playing at 50. It’s just the way the sport’s going. It’s just growing, growing and growing,” Littler explained. “But yeah, obviously the one thing I do want to do, and I’ve said it numerous times, is win one of every major at least once.
“Get them on the bucket list. Obviously, I’ve won a Pro Tour, a Euro Tour, the Premier League. I’ve won the biggest one, the World Championship. I’ve won the World Series and the Grand Slam. So there’s not much left. There’s not a lot for me to do now. And then I’ve ticked it all off. Once I do get one of everything, that’s when I want to at least add to it.”
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories