Smudged out
Luke Littler’s opponent celebrates wildly after finally winning a leg against him at darts Players Championship
Littler has the chance to move up the world rankings tonight
LUKE LITTLER'S Players Championship semi-final opponent had an ironic huge celebration after winning his first leg during their match.
Ross Smith went 4-0 down to the Nuke following a blistering start.
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This included Littler, 17, managing a set of incredible checkouts of 158, 107 and 150.
He then scored a 124 checkout on the bullseye without reply from Smudger.
However, Smith eventually found his aim and checked out for 24 with a double 12.
He then turned around and held his arms in the air towards the crowd.
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With it being the fifth leg of the game, it then prompted a break in play.
After resuming Littler scored another leg to go 5-1 up before Smith mounted a remarkable comeback to make it 5-5 before taking a 6-5 lead.
However, Litter bounced back once again to win three legs in a row and retake an 8-6 lead.
He then went on to win the match 11-9 to secure his spot in the final after missing eight match darts.
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Littler will face the winner of Luke Humphries and Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The winner of the tournament will land £120,000 in prize money, with the runner-up taking home £60,000 and semi-finalists £30,000.
Luke Littler’s opponent breaks down in disbelief as commentator loses mind over teen’s ‘ridiculous’ final dart
Smith, 35, is ranked No.21 in the world as it stands.
Meanwhile, Littler ranks at No.5 after just one year playing pro darts but could overtake Rob Cross for No.4 if he wins the tournament.
Littler beat his Premier League rival in the opening round of the competition with an emphatic 6-0 victory.
You can follow all of tonights darts action with SunSport's live blog here.
Inside Littler's massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age - smashing records along the way.
He has then gone on to win a host of PDC events and the Premier League title - which he claimed at the O2 Arena by beating world champion Luke Humphries in May.
He also finished his first season in the World Series as the No1 ranked player.
He has joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he's even the face of a brand new cereal.
But he is newly single after splitting from girlfriend Eloise Milburn following a 10-month relationship.
Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after his Grand Slam of Darts victory:
World Championship 2023 - £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 - £150,000
European Tour - £91,000
Player Championships events - £71,500
UK Open 2023 + 2024 - £17,500
World Matchplay - £10,000
World Grand Prix - £7,500
European Championship - £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts - £315,000
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