LUKE ‘The Nuke’ Littler doesn’t currently seem to be able to get past the hold Gerwyn Price has over him and it left him frustrated in Ireland.
The Warrington teenager lost his fifth successive meeting with the Welshman when they met in the quarter-final of Premier League Darts Night 3 in Dublin.
Replays on Sky Sports showed the 18-year-old throwing his darts case to the floor as he trudged off down the stairs to leave the stage.
Littler, who was victorious in the previous week’s action in Glasgow, blew hot and cold inside the 3Arena on his way to a 6-4 defeat.
The world champion racked up an unfamiliar amount of treble-less visits to hamper his scoring, yet achieved enough 180s to have troubled any opponent.
Littler’s eye was in as he achieved two maximums in the opening leg to hold throw in 12 darts and all was looking good.
But then the scoring dropped considerably and Price even had enough time to miss five shots at double before levelling matters.
In the next leg ‘The Nuke’ was wayward on double 20 before Price broke him to take a 2-1 lead and quickly took the next two legs too.
A 109 checkout from a double 14 finish, after appearing to have lost count, reduced the arrears to 4-2 and the teenager looked pumped as he milked the crowd.
With the darts in his favour and 180 and 140 visits to start leg seven he got home in 11 darts for 4-3 to look more like himself.
A 137 finish was on the cards for the break but Littler’s third dart for tops-tops was millimetres wide and Price put himself one leg away from the win.
It was the key moment in the contest.
Although Littler held throw for 5-4, Price’s six perfect arrows at the start of the 10th leg set him on the way to clinch the match.
