Littler Triumphs As Brighton Sees Two Nine-darters
6 March 2025
Luke Littler won night 5 of the Premier League in Brighton on a night which saw 2 nine-dart finishes.
The 18-year-old claimed his 2nd night triumph of the year with a 6-3 win in the last over Nathan Aspinall.
Defending champion Littler hit 5 180s as he triumphed once again, 4 days after thrashing James Wade 11-2 to win the UK Open.
"I've constantly been confident in my own ability, but the way my darts are addressing the minute, it's probably the best I've ever played on a constant basis," Littler told Sky Sports.
World number one Luke Humphries struck the very first Premier League nine-darter of 2025 in the quarter-finals but was beaten by Rob Cross, who went on to seal his own perfect leg versus Aspinall before losing a decider.
The set both receive a set of strong gold darts, worth an estimated ₤ 30,000 each, from league sponsors BetMGM.
Littler's victory sees him cut the space on league leader Humphries to two points from 7, with the set conference in Nottingham next week.
In a rematch of January's world last, where Littler become darts' youngest champ, he came out on leading once again in Brighton with a 6-2 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
The Dutchman, a seven-time Premier League champ, has yet to make a final in this year's competition.
All the action as it took place in Brighton
Humphries beats Littler to win Exeter last
27 February 2025
Humphries beaten regardless of nine-dart surface
Humphries struck the best leg with 2 180s before a 141 checkout to go 2-0 ahead versus Cross.
But the 30-year-old, who was seeking his third nighttime win of the project, wound up losing 6-4 to his fellow Englishman.
It was the 17th perfect leg in the Premier League considering that its creation in 2005.
But 2018 world champion Cross hit seven 180s of his own and balanced 111.19 as he grabbed the victory.
Littler was far from his best in his opener against Chris Dobey, where he trailed 5-4 before levelling and clinching the with a 110 finish.
Gerwyn Price paid the rate for missing functions as he decreased 6-3 to Van Gerwen, while Stephen Bunting remains without a point after a fifth successive defeat, beaten 6-2 by Aspinall, who balanced 106.
Sky repeatedly apologised to viewers after their TV pictures cut out at different phases during the early part of the night.
Premier League Darts Night 5 outcomes
Luke Littler 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen 2-6 Luke Littler
Rob Cross 5-6 Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price 3-6 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Littler 6-5 Chris Dobey
Rob Cross 6-4 Luke Humphries
Stephen Bunting 2-6 Nathan Aspinall
Premier League Darts is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a last each night.
Each of the eight players is guaranteed to deal with the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks 1-7 and 9-15, with the weeks 8 and 16 components done off the table. It means we will get 4th v fifth in Sheffield on the last league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.
Players make 2 points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and 5 for winning the night.
The top four gamers after the group stage development to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 23 May, with first dealing with fourth and 2nd against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The last, which is the very best of 21 legs, follows.
Premier League Darts Night 6 order of play
Nottingham, 13 March, 19:00 GMT
Luke Humphries v Luke Littler
Rob Cross v Chris Dobey
Stephen Bunting v Gerwyn Price