Luke Littler, the reigning World Darts Champion, defeated 'The Dreammaker' to advance to the Dutch Darts Masters quarter-finals where he will face Michael van Gerwen in a rematch of their thrilling World Championship final.
Luke Littler set up a World Darts Championship final rematch against Michael van Gerwen at the Dutch Darts Masters , as world No 1 Luke Humphries crashed out in the first round. Littler, who turned 18 on Tuesday, was in a battle with 'The Dreammaker', both breaking each other continuously throughout.
After a brilliant 134 checkout in the second leg from Littler, the decisive moment came when he nailed a 102 checkout for a hold of throw to move back level at 4-4 before breaking the throw once again. What makes history-maker Luke Littler so special? He then wrapped up the contest in some style, two maximums setting him up on 51 which he nailed on his favourite D10 for the 6-4 win. After starting 2025 by becoming the youngest world champion in the sport's history, Littler suffered a quarter-final exit at the hands of Gerwyn Price while trying to defend his Bahrain Masters title earlier this month. Now, he will look to go one step further at the Dutch Darts Masters where he lost 8-6 to Van Gerwen in 2024, and the two will meet again on Saturday night. Van Gerwen, in his first showing since his World Darts Championship final loss against Littler at Alexandra Palace, got off to a good start in the defence of his Dutch Darts Masters title by dominating fellow Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode in a comprehensive 6-1 victory. After breaking his opponent to move 3-1 in front, Van Gerwen won five legs in a row to cruise through to a 14th match up with the reigning world champion. The wins are 7-6 in Littler's favour, his worlds victory putting him in the lead. In a night of upsets, hometown hero Raymond van Barneveld also shocked Chris Dobey in a last-leg decider to make it through to the quarter-finals. In a tense clash with 'Hollywood' hitting maximums for fun, van Barneveld rallied with the crowd behind him and took the win in spectacular fashion, pinning a sensational 144 checkout. Dobey missed a match dart and was punished, the five-time world champion visibly emotional after the victory. The Dutchman will now face Stephen Bunting, who survived a last-leg shoot-out against Gian van Veen to win 6-5. Bunting entered the tournament on a high after picking up his maiden World Series title in Bahrain and it showed, 'The Bullet' finding the crucial break in the sixth leg and averaging over 100. Van Veen was throwing some high-quality darts too though and after an 11-dart leg to break Bunting back, he took the match all the way before Bunting pinned 70 on D16 to wrap things up. Kevin Doets also made his mark as he cruised past Nathan Aspinall to make it through to Saturday at the Dutch Darts Masters. Doets, who shocked former world champion Michael Smith at the World Darts Championship, was on fire in the contest and with a massive 138 checkout, 60 percent on the doubles, plus three breaks of throw sealed a huge 6-1 victory. He now faces Gerwyn Price who came away with a comprehensive 6-2 victory over Danny Noppert, the 'Iceman' continuing his form from Bahrain with a huge 124 checkout and 101.85 average to put himself on top
Luke Littler Michael Van Gerwen Dutch Darts Masters World Darts Championship Darts Sports News
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