‘Genuinely remarkable’ Luke Littler hits nine-darter and wins Belgian Darts Open leaving fans speechless

LUKE LITTLER notched a nine-darter and his biggest pay-day as a PDC event winner – with Belgian Darts Open joy on his European Tour debut.

The Warrington whizkid, 17, toppled Rob Cross 8-7 in what fans called an “unreal tie-beak final” – his sixth impressive victory of the tournament.

X/ @OfficialPDC

Triumphant teen Luke Littler is now a champion in Belgium[/caption]

X/ @OfficialPDC

The Nuke enjoys a victory dance after beating Rob Cross[/caption]

X/ @OfficialPDC

The Warrington hero was a roaring success on his European Tour debut[/caption]

Scooping the £30,000 top prize means Littler has won £273k in all over the past three months. 

It followed a controversial end to his semi-final where German opponent Ricardo Pietreczko labelled him “arrogant”.

But fans then lapped up his storming finale against Cross – labelling him “genuinely remarkable” and “f***ing phenomenal”.

Incredibly, Littler has now hit nine-darters on the way to debut glory in the World Series in Bahrain, ProTour in Wigan and Euros in Belgium. 

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

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

“It’s always good to be involved in a good game. Like Rob said I bring the best out of him. Whenever we have battles we always push ourselves.”

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

X/ @OfficialPDC

Rob Cross has a friendly word with his conqueror Littler[/caption]

X/ @OfficialPDC

Littler celebrates his latest night of awesome darts[/caption]

Littler and Pietreczko had an uncomfortable exchange after the semi-final

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

Fellow Englishman Cross, who lost with an average of 108, said: “He really pushes on. I missed a few chances and I can’t be too bitter about them. 

“This young man has got such a bright future in front of him. The nine was impeccable, I thought it was amazing. “

Meanwhile, viewers called Littler‘s performance “naughty” and “nuts” as he pipped fellow Englishman Cross.

One darts lover claimed “I can’t speak! I can’t speak!” after seeing the teenager’s calm brilliance.

The thrilling end to Littler’s Belgian triumph contrasted with a confrontational finish to his 7-3 defeat of Pietreczko in his previous match – where the two seemed to square up.

The 29-year-old seemed to give Littler an ear-bashing.

But the sport’s youngest ever World Championship finalist insisted he was bemused at the response.

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

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

Littler’s success in Belgium saw him notch 100-plus averages in five of his six matches.

He beat 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 walloped Wattimena in his quarter-final after admitting he only practiced for 20 minutes due to watching Liverpool’s 1-1 home Premier League draw with Manchester City.

X/ @OfficialPDC

Fans shared Littler’s glory in Wieze, Belgium[/caption]

Littler astonished even his biggest fans with outstanding form

X/ @OfficialPDC

The teenager enjoyed another jackpot night[/caption]