Luke Littler suffered a surprise exit to Andrew Gilding in one of the shocks of the year at the Machineseeker European Championship in Dortmund on Friday.
Littler, 17, was making his European Championship debut, but Gilding dumped out the Premier League champion 6-4 with a 98.92 average, three maximums and 35 per cent checkout success.
Defeat for an out-of-sorts Littler was his third consecutive first-round exit in a ranked TV major.
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Luke Littler won the Premier League in his debut campaign after defeating Luke Humphries 11-7 in the final
“It’s the last thing I expected really, especially with the way Luke has played lately,” conceded the former UK Open champion.
“It’s the third time I’ve played Luke, and tonight it was a case of third time lucky!
“This is a huge win for me. I was thinking about my flight home tomorrow to be honest, but maybe that helped me to relax!”
Gilding surged into a 3-0 lead, winning the opening leg with a neat 76 checkout before completing a 12-darter and then taking out a quality 79 finish.
Littler got on the board in the fourth leg and after ‘Goldfinger’ missed two darts to extend his lead, the Warrington ace punished his opponent to close the gap with a two-dart combination finish on 72.
‘The Nuke’ looked visibly frustrated after spaying a few loose darts, but he stayed focused to sink double 10 and make it 3-3 in a dramatic encounter.
Suffolk star Gilding edged ahead with a brilliant 11-darter and after missing the bullseye for a 5-3 lead, Littler rescued the leg with a neat 64 checkout on double top.
Gilding moved one away from a massive upset as Littler failed to land double 18 for a big 156 finish.
And the 53-year-old soon completed a remarkable victory by cleaning up 47 to reach the second round where he will play home favourite Ricardo Pietreczko.
As well as the remaining three PDC ProTour events, Littler will return to action at the Grand Slam of Darts live on Sky Sports before he takes part in the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.
He will then look to go one better than he did in January by winning the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace from December 15 until January 3.
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Highlights of the World Grand Prix 2024 between Luke Humphries and Mike De Decker
Reigning champion Peter Wright was hammered 6-0 by Jermaine Wattimena, while world No 1 Luke Humphries showed his class in overcoming Nathan Aspinall 6-2.
Humphries produced a stunning 106.49 average in hitting seven 180s.
James Wade won the battle of two former European champions with a 6-3 victory over Rob Cross.
Jonny Clayton defeated Chris Dobey 6-4 and Danny Noppert saw off Joe Cullen 6-2.
Newly-crowned World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker cruised past sixth seed Josh Rock 6-1.
Ricardo Pietreczko edged Damon Heta 6-5 to book a last-16 date with Gilding.
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Watch Littler’s nine-darter from all angles as ‘The Nuke’ hit perfection on Premier League Finals night
2024 Machineseeker European Championship
Friday October 25
First Round
Danny Noppert 6-2 Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Chris Dobey
James Wade 6-3 Rob Cross
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Damon Heta
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Peter Wright
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Luke Littler
Luke Humphries 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Mike De Decker 6-1 Josh Rock
Saturday October 26
Afternoon Session (11.45pm)
Second Round x4
Ryan Searle vs Luke Woodhouse
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith vs Ritchie Edhouse
Mike De Decker vs Danny Noppert
Evening Session (6pm)
Second Round x4
Michael van Gerwen vs Gary Anderson
James Wade vs Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Humphries vs Jonny Clayton
Andrew Gilding vs Ricardo Pietreczko
Best of 19 legs
What live darts is next on Sky Sports?
Luke Humphries claimed his maiden Grand Slam of Darts title last year
Live darts returns to Sky Sports with the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton from November 9-17 as Luke Humphries looks to defend his title with Littler and Beau Greaves also in action.
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Humphries nailed this 91 finish to defeat Rob Cross 16-8 and win his first Grand Slam of Darts title
Attention then turns to the turn of the year and the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, beginning on December 15, as the darts calendar continues to provide excitement throughout the year – and you can enjoy the very best here live on Sky Sports.
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