Newly crowned Grand Slam of Darts champion Luke Littler continued his hot form with a stunning six-leg strike from world number four Rob Cross in the first round of the Players Championship final at Minehead.
The 17-year-old put on a commanding display to put Kroos 6-0 up after just 15 minutes.
He found himself virtually unplayable, averaging 112.73 to start his campaign. This is the second highest in the tournament’s history.
Littler will be joined in the second round by defending world champion Luke Humphries, who won 6-2 over Gabriel Clemens.
But many celebrities will not feature in the next round after high-profile players including Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey were eliminated on Friday.
Notably, Van Gerwen went through a year without a TV title for the second time since 2012.
Luke Littler celebrates with the Eric Bristow Trophy after winning the Grand Slam of Darts. (Photo: PDC)
The star of the night was undoubtedly Littler once again. There is a long way to go as the format is relentless and there are several matches to negotiate on Saturday and Sunday.
But he has shown few signs of slowing down after winning his 10th title in his debut year on the PDC Tour and his third major title of the year, a milestone that will certainly see him considered one of the favorites to win next month’s Live World Championships. I stopped. Sky Sports.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated Darts channel from December 15 to January 3. Stream darts and other top sports with NOW.
