Luke Littler has moved to the top of the Premier League after winning his second night of the competition in Manchester.
He beat Gerwyn Price in the final to move above world No 1 Luke Humphries in the table and put himself in a great position to qualify for the play-off stage.
Humphries earlier this week said that he and Michael van Gerwen were currently the top two players in the world of darts.
But Littler’s performance has sent a clear message to his rival that he deserves to be in the conversation with a second successive night win.
Luke Littler has won his second Premier League night
Getty
The 17-year-old beat Van Gerwen 6-3 in his quarter-final, a third win in a row against the Dutchman.
He then faced stablemate Nathan Aspinall in the semi-final and came out victorious 6-4.
Price, who hit a nine-darter in his semi-final against Michael Smith, stood in his way.
But Littler was far too good for the Welshman and is now a point ahead of Humphries having won 6-3.
Littler sat fifth in the competition and outside of the play-off spots ahead of last week’s action in Belfast.
But his victory in Northern Ireland propelled him up the table and into second.
Humphries had won three nights in a row and was four points clear at the top heading to Manchester.
He also won the German Darts Grand Prix on Monday, beating Van Gerwen 8-1 in the final.
He claimed he was ‘unbeatable’ during that tournament but that wasn’t the case on Thursday.
The 2023 world champion Smith got the better of Humphries to win the quarter-final clash 6-3.
That meant Humphries would not add to his points tally and Littler certainly took full advantage.
Littler now has 23 points, with Humphries second on 22, and Aspinall and Van Gerwen third and fourth on 18 and 17 respectively.
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Luke Littler beat Gerwyn Price in the final in Manchester
PA
The teenager’s beloved Manchester United suffered a late defeat at Chelsea just before the final started.
The Red Devils conceded twice in stoppage time to go down 4-3 in a thrilling game at Stamford Bridge.
That was the first thing Littler mentioned in his post-match interview on Sky Sports.
He said: “I am glad I won as I just watched Man United concede two in two minutes!”
Luke Littler was in fine form as he moved to the top of the Premier League
PA
It took Littler nine weeks to win his first night in the Premier League and now he has two.
He admits he now feels more comfortable, adding: “I have definitely settled into the Premier League.
“The first five to six weeks I won my first game and then lost but winning in Belfast last week gave me a lot of confidence.
“There are still a lot of weeks to go so I have to keep plugging away and getting points and I am sure I will make the play-offs.”
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