- Luke Littler was beaten by Luke Humphries in the semi-finals of night 10
- Nathan Aspinall came from 3-0 down to beat Humphries 6-4 in the final
- Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was in attendance in Manchester
Wayne Rooney was in attendance for night 10 of Premier League Darts but huge Manchester United fan Luke Littler had a night to forget in front of the Red Devils legend.
And it was a Mancunian who was triumphant in Manchester as Nathan Aspinall upset the odds to win his first night of this year’s tournament.
Littler began the evening well as he got end his run of six straight defeats to Gerwyn Price (6-3) despite the Welshman managing a stunning nine-darter.
However, the 17-year-old was beaten 6-4 in the semi-finals by old rival Luke Humphries, who blew apart Stephen Bunting 6-1 with an average of 118.43 in his first match.
Cool Hand Luke wasn’t able to go all the way though as Aspinall recovered from 3-0 down in the final, winning six of the next seven legs to claim victory and draw a huge roar from the crowd at the AO Arena.
Rooney was among the 12,500 sell-out crowd and looked to be enjoying the occasion as he cut a low profile in a baseball cap on a VIP table.
Nathan Aspinall was victorious on night 10 of Premier League Darts in Manchester
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was in attendance AO Arena to watch the action
Manchester United fan Luke Littler had an evening to forget as he exited in the semi-finals
The 39-year-old knows a thing or two about bursting on to the scene at the age of 16 like Littler, having done the same with Everton at the start of his footballing career.
Rooney and Littler previously played FIFA with each-other on an online stream for fans and appear to have a good relationship.
Littler was seen signing autographs for Rooney’s sons following his epic win at the World Darts Championships at London’s Alexandra Palace in January.
The former Plymouth Argyle manager took to his Instagram to share a snap of one of his sons, 11-year-old Klay, meeting the new world champion, writing: ‘What a night for the lads. Congratulations Luke. Unbelievable.’
Littler remains top of the Premier League Darts standings despite a disappointing night which allowed second-placed Humphries to close the gap to five points, while Aspinall moves into the top four.
‘I had a feeling I was going to make the final a couple of days ago,’ Aspinall said after his win. ‘To come out on top is an amazing feeling.
‘I’ve never felt that nervous at the end, honest to God I can’t say what I was thinking or feeling. It was the most nervous six or seven darts I’ve ever thrown.
Aspinall looked delighted after securing a brilliant victory on home turf in Manchester
‘I just wanted to win so much for this crowd, the support they’ve given me the last few years.
‘It has been amazing and they came out in their thousands to support me, I wanted to win for them. Luckily he missed a 170 and I won.
‘It was the perfect final for me to win wasn’t it? It wasn’t comfortable. I went 3-0 down and I came back to win 6-4. That’s my career isn’t it?’
