Luke Littler crashes out of Premier League Darts Night 12 in Rotterdam at the first hurdle as Michael Smith beats teenage sensation for a FOURTH time
- The two played a quarterfinal in Rotterdam in the Netherlands
- Smith has now defeated Littler four times in the Darts Premier League
Luke Littler crashed out of Night 12 of the Darts Premier League in the quarter-finals after another defeat to Michael Smith.
It was Smith’s fourth Premier League victory over Littler in the Darts Premier League.
Smith defeated Littler 6-3 to reach the semi-finals in Rotterdam. He eventually reached the final, but lost 6–4 to Nathan Aspinall.
The quarter-final between Smith and Littler was a high-quality match, with both players hitting four 180s and averaging a score of over 100.
However, some ruthless box office work from Smith was enough to see the 17-year-old prodigy.
Luke Littler was eliminated in Rotterdam by Michael Smith
Smith averaged 102.32 to record his fourth Premier League victory over Littler
The Bully Boy actually wasted one match dart to give Littler a glimmer of light and a possible route back into the game.
But Littler needed 80 and couldn’t find it, with Smith dismissing him through a double six.
While Warrington’s most prominent dart export recorded an average of 100.34, Smith was his superior with 102.32.
Littler led the Premier League ahead of Luke Humphries, who defeated him in the Darts World Championship final in January, going into the night in the Dutch city.
He had a two-point lead over his nearest rival and a four-point lead over Michael van Gerwen, who was in third place.
Littler and Humphries are now on 26 points, while Aspinall is third with 23 points.
Smith defeated Gerwyn Price in the semi-final and reached Thursday’s showpiece match against the Asp, who made a stunning comeback to beat Luke Humphries 6-4.
Aspinall took the first two legs in the final and although Smith started to grow in the match, the Asp remained in control and took a two-leg lead.
Nathan Aspinall won Night 12 by beating Smith 6-4 in the final to move into third place in the Premier League
Bully Boy took advantage of misses in the outer ring by pulling a leg back before Aspinall responded to lead 5-3.
Smith continued to fight back and hit a stunning 170 checkout in the next leg, but after missing three match darts, the Asp finally wrapped up the win with double eight.