Luke Littler hits nine-darter on way to winning Premier League

Luke Littler has hit a nine-dart finish on his way to winning the Premier League with victory over Luke Humphries.

Having only turned 17 years of age in January, there were question marks over whether the World Championship runner-up should be exposed to the rigours of the 17-week tournament.

However, after topping the league stage, Littler comprehensively overcame Michael Smith in the semi-finals before defeating Humphries 11-7 in the final.

How was the final won?

Both players were guilty of squandering doubles during the opening stages of the final, sharing the opening four legs, before Littler's 84 checkout was followed by a 116 from Humphries.

The world champion was having to battle hard to keep himself within a leg or on level terms, and although he reached 5-5, it only preceded Littler's moment of magic.

Littler is no stranger to hitting the perfect game on stage, yet this moment came at a crucial part of the contest, making it all the more impressive.

🚨 LITTLER HITS A NINE-DARTER! 🚨

Luke Littler hits a nine-darter in the Premier League final! 🤯

📺 https://t.co/gbUt9q25Jh#PLDarts | Play-Offs | Final pic.twitter.com/MmoJUlGoIi

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) May 23, 2024

Having fallen 8-5 adrift, Humphries responded with a timely 76 finish, only for Littler to post a 94 checkout of his own to move two legs away from the trophy.

Humphries got back to 9-7, producing a majestic 134 finish, but he was unable to stop the Littler juggernaut as he hit double top to wrap up a famous win.

Littler hit 10 180s on the way to hitting a 105.6 average in the final as he claimed his fifth title of the season, following successes at the Bahrain Darts Masters, Austrian Darts Open, Belgian Darts Open and a ProTour event.

Earlier in the evening, Littler and Humphries had defeated Smith and Michael van Gerwen - the 2023 champion - by 10-5 scorelines.