Luke Littler reaches UK Open quarter-finals with 10-5 victory over Dave Chisnall; teenager looking for first major PDC title on Sunday as tournament in Minehead concludes; Littler to face Damon Heta while world No 1 Luke Humphries drawn against Stephen Bunting
Sunday 3 March 2024 01:26, UK
Luke Littler remains in the hunt for his first major PDC title after reaching the quarter-finals of the UK Open in Minehead.
The 17-year-old - runner-up to Luke Humphries in January's World Championship final before winning the Bahrain Darts Masters later that month - beat Dave Chisnall in the last 16 on Saturday evening.
Littler romped to a 10-5 victory after reeling off eight legs out of 10 from a break and 3-2 down, with the youngster averaging 103.38 in the match and recording a checkout success of 59 per cent.
On potentially winning the tournament, Littler said: "It would be unbelievable, I have not even thought about it, I will just take it game by game. That's what every player has to do - if you are lucky enough to win you will go on to the next one."
Littler will face Damon Heta in the last eight, with Cazoo Masters champion Stephen Bunting pitted against world No 1 Humphries, Rob Cross taking on Ricky Evans, and Dimitri Van den Bergh to battle Martin Lukeman.
Peter Wright - who told Sky Sports' Love the Darts Podcast earlier this week that he thought he would win the UK Open - lost a last-leg decider to Bunting in the last 16 having fought back from 9-6 down.
Humphries breezed past Mervyn King 10-4 while Cross thumped Keane Barry 10-4 and Lukeman upset former two-time world champion Gary Anderson 10-5.
Van den Bergh knocked out Jonny Clayton 10-7, Heta rallied from 7-3 down to beat 21-year-old Dutchman Gian van Veen 10-8 and Evans dumped out Luke Woodhouse with a 10-6 triumph.
World No 30 Littler beat James Wade 10-7 on Friday evening after entering at the fourth-round stage before seeing off Gerwyn's Price conqueror Martin Schindler 10-8 in the fifth round on Saturday afternoon, winning from 5-3 down.
He said after overcoming Schindler: "I think if everyone didn't know, they are going to know now that I am not a morning person.
"This morning I didn't have breakfast and I was feeling sick because there was nothing in my stomach and my adrenalin was going. That first game was really hard to get over the line.
"After that game, I chilled myself out, went on my phone, went out for some food. I think played better in the evening, every player thinks they play better in the evening."
Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall were two of the high-profile players to exit in the fifth round, losing to Woodhouse and Heta respectively in last-leg deciders, with Aspinall squandering an 8-4 lead in his defeat to Heta.
Defending champion Andrew Gilding was banished in the last 32, trounced 10-1 by Wright.
Premier League leader Michael van Gerwen was an early casualty in the fourth round on Friday, dumped out 10-7 by Mensur Suljovic, who went on to be beaten 10-6 by Chisnall the following afternoon in Somerset.
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