Luke Littler hits nine darter as former world champion in awe at 'breathtaking' Josh Rock moment at World Matchplay
Luke Littler smacks a nine-darter in Matchplay to deny Josh Rock who was on one himself in the same leg
Nine-dart Luke Littler made Blackpool rock as he marched into the Final of the Betfred World Matchplay.
The World Champion and Josh Rock produced a leg of darts perfection during their magnificent last-four battle at the Winter Gardens.
Commentator Wayne Mardle famously delivered his “I can’t spake” line after the Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen World Final leg when both players were on nine-darters after six darts each before Bully Boy pinned the finish to grab it.
The same thing happened once more in Blackpool as Littler and Rock did exactly that again with a first dozen darts during a phenomenal eighth leg.
Littler got first crack at the nine and he didn’t give his pal a look as he smacked the 141 to get it done before giving a shrug of the shoulders as if it was normal practice.
He said: “It definitely sparked me into life, but I didn’t want to give it big. I was playing awful, but at that point I wanted to go into the break at 6-4 as soon as I hit that, but obviously I was 7-3 down. But I said to myself: You can do it, you can come back again, and that’s what I did.”
Mardle quipped it was now "the 'second' best leg of darts ever" while former Lakeside champ Mark Webster called it "breathtaking."
However, Littler’s maximum wasn’t just a showbiz moment. It was also vital as it kickstarted a fightback which saw rifle back and storm past the Northern Irishman into the Final where he will meet James Wade.
The Nuke stepped on the gas after losing every leg of the first session of the match and roared into an 11-9 lead by the the fourth break.
Littler was able to keep his rival at arm’s length until the end of the match to win 17-14 and earn a clash against The Machine.
He said: “It was an incredible game. 5-0 down, slow start, but I picked myself back up. I wouldn’t say Josh fell off a little bit, but those first five legs from Josh were unbelievable. As the match went on, went off, had a break and I just said to myself: You can do it, you’ve been here before. And I’ve done it again.
“As soon as I got into the lead, obviously in the back of my mind, Josh started with the darts, so I just had to break him, hold, and then gradually get that two-leg advantage, which I did.”
Littler is now aiming to add the Matchplay to his World Championship and Premier League wins and said: “Everyone knows about the Triple Crown, but James, you can’t put anything past him. He’s been playing some brilliant darts, but I'll relax and we’re back tomorrow. He’s played great, but having that winning feeling over him in the UK Open, it’ll give me some confidence. For myself, I’ve been in many finals, I’ve won many majors, but this is the big one now. It all goes down to tomorrow.”