Littler Perfection Lights Up Winter Gardens
Defending champion Luke Littler produced a sensational performance to reach the World Matchplay quarter-finals, hitting a nine-dart finish and the second-highest average in the tournament’s history on a dramatic Tuesday night in Blackpool. The world number one defeated Nathan Aspinall 11-8, recording a stunning 113 average in a contest that saw 22 maximums thrown between the pair.
Littler achieved perfection in the very first leg, breaking the Aspinall throw immediately with scores of 180, 180 and a 141 checkout completed via treble 17 and double 15. He later came agonisingly close to a second nine-darter, wiring the double 15 for another perfect leg. Despite the barrage, Aspinall contributed to a high-quality encounter, but was ultimately unable to halt the defending champion’s progress.
The evening session also produced a major upset as Michael van Gerwen was knocked out of the tournament by Dirk van Duijvenbode. The Dutchman’s surprise exit opens up his quarter of the draw and represents a significant development for those who follow the tournament from a betting perspective, a reminder of the unpredictable nature of the sport covered in any good darts betting guide.
Earlier, Gary Anderson booked his first quarter-final berth at the Winter Gardens since 2020 with a comeback victory over Jonny Clayton. The Scot found himself 4-1 down after Clayton started strongly with checkouts of 105 and 121, and later admitted he was merely trying to make the scoreline respectable. “My game was shot at 4-1 down,” Anderson said. “I was thinking, ‘I’ll just nick at least three or four legs and make it look good,’ but then I ended up going 6-4 up.”
From that deficit, the 2018 champion battled back to win ten of the subsequent thirteen legs, sealing an 11-7 victory. In the night’s other second-round match, Josh Rock also advanced after overcoming Stephen Bunting.
