Fans speechless at Littler nine-darter in the Belgian Darts Open final

LUKE LITTLER scored a nine-darter and his biggest payday as a PDC event winner – with joy in the Belgian Darts Open on his European Tour debut.

The 17-year-old Warrington whizkid defeated Rob Cross 8-7 in what fans called an “unreal drawn final” – his sixth impressive win of the tournament.

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Winning the £30,000 top prize means Littler has won a total of £273,000 in the last three months.

It followed a controversial end to his semi-final, in which German opponent Ricardo Pietreczko called him “arrogant”.

But fans then loved his storming final against Cross, calling him ‘truly remarkable’ and ‘bloody phenomenal’.

Incredibly, Littler has now hit nine-darters on his way to debuts in the World Series in Bahrain, ProTour in Wigan and the European Championships in Belgium.

This time the perfection came in the 11th stage with a double 12 finish for an average of 104.

He said: “I was just happy to get over the line. I hit the nine and then lost the next two legs. I dug in, but I was just happy to get over the line.

“It’s always good to be involved in a good match. Like Rob said, I get the best out of him. When we have fights, we always push ourselves.

On his nine-dart finish, he added: “I think 144 is better than 141. When the first one goes in, you know the next one should too. Then the double 12, happy to hit one.

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“I know the spotlight is on me right now because I’ve done so well.”

Compatriot Cross, who lost with an average of 108, said: “He really keeps going. I missed a few opportunities and I can’t be too bitter about that.

“This young man has such a bright future ahead of him. The nine was flawless, I loved it. “

Meanwhile, viewers branded Littler’s performance ‘naughty’ and ‘crazy’ as he teased fellow Australian Cross.

One darts enthusiast claimed: “I can’t talk! I can’t talk!” after seeing the teenager’s calm glare.

The tense ending to Littler’s Belgian victory contrasted with a confrontational end to his 7-3 defeat to Pietreczko in his previous match, in which the two appeared to be on level terms.

The 29-year-old appeared to punch Littler on the ear.

But the sport’s youngest ever World Cup finalist insisted he was stunned by the reaction.

He posted on a darts Facebook group: “No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said. He said something and then don’t do it again.’

But Pietreczko said on his Instagram story: “So I really appreciated that you can play such a game at such an age. But I hope his arrogance punishes him.”

Littler’s success in Belgium saw him average more than 100 in five of his six matches.

He defeated Jose de Sousa 6-5, Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3, Damon Heta 6-3 and Jermaine Wattimena 6-2 – before his eventful victories over Pietreczko and Cross.

And in fact he beat Wattimena in his quarter-final match after admitting he had only practiced for 20 minutes due to Liverpool’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester City.

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