Luke Littler came out on top in a thrilling Grand Slam of Darts semi-final with Gary Anderson.
‘The Nuke’ went 2-0 up against ‘The Flying Scotsman’ in the beginning of their Grand Slam of Darts showdown, then 7-4, but his lead was short lived.
Anderson came back with a bang, winning an incredible seven legs in a row and capitalising on Littler errors left right and centre.
But in true Littler fashion, the 17-year-old rose from looking down and out to take the 53-year-old to 15-15.
And the teen was the first to reach 16, booking his place in the final against Martin Lukeman later on Sunday.
After winning his four major semi-final this year, Littler told Sky Sports: “It frustrates because I know I can come back and win games like this, but it would be better if I could go into the lead like Gary [Anderson].
“I knew I needed to dig deep like the Mike De Decker game [in the last 16, which he won 10-9] and I can’t believe I won.”
And at 13-9 down, Littler says he was in awe of just how devastating Anderson had been.
“I know I’ve got it, but when he’s taking out century finishes when I’m on a double and he’s taking out doubles with his last dart, I’m like ‘Gary, just miss’,” the Premier League Darts winner said.
“But he was very good on his doubles today. I’m so glad.
“I’ve got to stay focused [ahead of the final], be myself and I’m sure Lukeman will be up for it and I will be too. This is one of the best games I’ve won.
“I just said to myself ‘you know it’s there, so do it’. When I equalised at 14-14 I had a moment and then I got two low scores and I was like ‘this is not what you need’. I just threw everything at the last leg.”
Littler’s lowest average this week was 102, summing up the incredible Grand Slam debut he’s had.
He broke the record for the largest margin of victory in the quarter-final as he saw off Jermaine Wattimena 16-2.
And Anderson knew exactly how tough facing Littler would be before the two battled for a spot in the final, joking he’d need to give the teen a ‘hard kick’ to beat him.
But it turns out not even a sensational performance could see off the darts sensation, who could rise to PDC no. 5 if he wins the tournament.
Anderson embraced Littler at the end as he accepted defeat to arguably darts best rising talent.
Lukeman saw off Mickey Mansell 16-12 in Sunday’s first semi-final.
The final will get under way at about 19:45.
