TOUGH LUKE
Luke Littler KNOCKED OUT of Players Championship 8 by Kevin Doets by millimetres after agonising final dart
Littler has not lost it all yet - scroll down to see where he ranks in the Premier League darts table
LUKE LITTLER crashed OUT of the Players Championship 8 in an agonising last-leg decider against little-known Kevin Doets.
The teen sensation beat Christian Perez before taking down Nathan Rafferty.
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Far from Ally Pally tucked in indoor sporting venue in Leicester The Nuke” was unable to overcome Doets, succumbing 6-5 in Leicester.
Doets made a comeback from a 5-4 deficit to clinch victory with his last dart.
The final leg was a tense affair with both competitors neck and neck until the end.
With the score tied at 106 Littler missed his chance to check out setting the oche for Doets to capture the win.
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In the decisive leg the Dutchman secured his last-8 spot with an electrifying 106 checkout on his final throw.
Doets’ winning streak persisted as he defeated Daryl Gurney in the following round, but his journey ended in the quarter finals with a 6-3 loss to Danny Noppert.
Noppert went on to beat world No1 Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final - taking home the £15,000 prize money.
Meanwhile, Littler has struggled to replicate the success of his debut Players Championship in February where he clinched the title with a nine-dart finish against Ryan Searle.
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For Littler it was a case of deja vu, having suffered a narrow 5-6 defeat to Ross Smith just the day before.
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Despite favourable odds Littler with three darts in hand to score from 48 couldn’t seal the deal.
But the youngster went low on double tops and missed his favourite double 10 by a hair's width.
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Smith then took out a 68 checkout with two perfect darts.
Littler will now prep towards Night 11 of the Premier League follows this week’s Players Championship events and EuroTour qualifiers on Thursday.
The 17-year-old who is top of the league table with 23 points will face Rob Cross in the quarter-finals in Birmingham later this week.
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