Luke Littler continued his strong run at the Grand Slam of Darts as he advanced to the quarter finals on Thursday evening, while three time champion Michael van Gerwen was eliminated after a surprising defeat to Danny Noppert.
Defending champion Littler produced one of the standout performances of the tournament so far, averaging 105.38 in a commanding 10-4 victory over Wessel Nijman. The 17 year old moved into a 5-0 lead and maintained control throughout the contest, despite Nijman briefly narrowing the scoreline. Littler eventually closed out the match in convincing fashion to secure his place in the last eight, where he will face Northern Irishman Josh Rock.
“I had to switch on tonight. I have won titles like the World Matchplay coming back from 5-0 down, but tonight I wanted to prove a point and start strongly,” Littler said.“I know that if I reach the final I will be world number one, so I am taking it game by game. Hopefully Josh and I can have another great match like we did at the World Matchplay.”
The biggest upset of the evening came when Van Gerwen, currently ranked world number three, was defeated 10-6 by fellow Dutchman Noppert. The match was closely contested in the early stages, with Noppert edging 6-5 ahead after the eleventh leg. He then broke Van Gerwen’s throw in the thirteenth leg and maintained his advantage to claim a memorable victory.
“It was a rollercoaster. I think I coped well under pressure, so I am really happy,” Noppert said. “Over the whole game I played well. Everything went my way, but in the end I was a little bit nervous.”
Elsewhere, Rock progressed with a narrow 10-9 win against Connor Scutt, while Lukas Wenig secured a 10-8 victory over fellow German Niko Springer.
Grand Slam of Darts Schedule
Saturday 15 November, 19:00 – Quarter Finals (best of 31 legs)
• Luke Littler v Josh Rock
• Lukas Wenig v Danny Noppert
Sunday 16 November, 13:00 – Semi Finals (best of 31 legs)
• Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price
• Winner of Littler v Rock v winner of Wenig v Noppert
Sunday 16 November, 19:00 – Final (best of 31 legs)
