Luke Littler, 17, blows speechless opponent away in under 10 minutes on dream US Darts Masters debut
LUKE LITTLER was living the American dream as he crushed his opponent in under ten minutes on his US Darts Masters debut.
Fresh off the back of victory in Premier League Darts, Littler headed over to the states to compete in the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Littler was the second seed entry behind reigning champion Michael van Gerwen, and faced Canadian Matt Campbell in his opening round match.
But the 17-year-old WWE fan showed no sign of nerves as he scored an emphatic takedown of the Ginja Ninja with a 6-0 whitewash.
After entering with undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes‘ entrance music, Luke the Nuke recorded an average score of 103.66 to complete victory in just nine minutes and 52 seconds.
Littler’s win saw him land four 180s on his route to the semi-final, including on his final leg, leaving his opponent looking somewhat disgruntled.
The Nuke hit a 180 to bring his score down from 185 before finishing with a double two after two more trips to the oche.
Campbell, 34, was not even able to look at Littler as he collected his winning darts from the board and had even placed his darts down only for Littler to miss his first finishing chance.
Following his win, Littler said: “I couldn’t wait to get on that stage tonight.
“I felt really comfortable and everything just went well. I can’t wait to play tomorrow now.
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“With the amount of top athletes that have performed here, it would mean the world to lift this trophy, and hopefully I can go all the way.”
It was an almost total domination from the European contingent of darts stars in the US, with 2023 world champion Michael Smith being stunned 6-1 by Jeff Smith.
The 44-year-old is the reigning North American winner and will now face Littler in the quarter-finals.
On his match against Littler, Smith said: “I absolutely love New York, this city has pretty much adopted me.
Inside Littler's massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has since joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
The wonderkid has now cemented his place among the tungsten elite by winning the Premier League Darts final – and the £275k top prize.
Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.
“I’m Jeff Smith, I’m not worried about Luke Littler. He’s a generational talent, there’s no doubt about that, but I just have to worry about what I do.
“I’m here with a point to prove, and that’s it. Me reaching the final wasn’t a fluke last year, and I want to come back and compete again.”
Gerwyn Price or Peter Wright will be the semi-final opponent of Littler v Smith.
Van Gerwen is in the other bracket and could be in the final if he can overcome Rob Cross and one of Luke Humphries or Nathan Aspinall.
The winner of the competition will pocket £20,000.
'He just eats potatoes on TikTok'
LUKE LITTLER has called out social media star Beavo for a boxing fight.
Littler, 17, has taken the world by storm after exploding on to the darts scene last Christmas.
But he’s already eyeing a switch to the boxing ring.
On a trip Stateside ahead of the US Darts Masters, Littler was asked who he’d choose to fight while appearing on Ariel Helwani’s MMA podcast.
And, waving off suggestions of Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith, he instead chose TikTok sensation Beavo.
Littler said: “It’s like a proper person, it’s not a darts player.
“Do I like him? Nah. Beavo.
“He just swallows potatoes whole on TikTok.”