Luke Littler turned boos into astonishment as he marked his return to Germany with a sensational 170 checkout to beat Michael van Gerwen and clinch night eight of the Premier League in Berlin.
Littler has been all-conquering since he emerged as a 16-year-old at the 2024 World Championships but suggested last year he would skip tournaments in Germany after several run-ins with boisterous crowds.
However, Littler, who suffered World Cup embarrassment last June in Frankfurt, was only greeted with a small amount of boos before he got the better of Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price and Van Gerwen to win again.
After boos were traded for applause win a 6-3 victory over Bunting, a fourth win over Price in March followed before Littler reserved his finest work for the final against Van Gerwen.
The crowd at Uber Arena were treated to a first 170 checkout by Littler to move him within touching distance of back-to-back Premier League victories before a second ‘Big Fish’ finish sent the unstoppable 19-year-old to the top of the standings.
Victory ended Littler’s barren run in Germany, which started in 2024 when he lost to Peter Wright in Hildesheim before further hostile welcomes followed in Munich and Berlin at the start of 2025.
A shock early World Cup exit in Frankfurt last June extended Littler’s poor form in the country, which continued when he missed out on the world number one spot in October after a surprise loss to James Wade at the European Championship in Dortmund.
But all that has now changed.
After comfortably seeing off Bunting following a smattering of boos for his walk-on, Littler edged a nip-and-tuck semi-final with Price 6-4, despite using his prototype darts.
When Littler breezed into a three-leg lead only to be pegged back by Van Gerwen a wobble looked on the cards, but the teenage sensation regained his composure and signed off with back-to-back 170 checkouts to win a third night of the Premier League season.
“Germany wasn’t too bad tonight,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“I played very well and they were on my side at times.
“I reeled the 170s back in.”
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