LITTLER REIGNS SUPREME WITH FLANDERS TROPHY GLORY

LUKE LITTLER clinched the Flanders Darts Trophy after beating Josh Rock 8-7 in the final. 

‘The Nuke’ came back from 5-2 down against ‘Rocky’ to seal a second European Tour crown of the year after defending the Belgian Open in March.

World No. 2 Littler claimed his SEVENTH title of 2025 in Antwerp and the £30K top cash prize.  

Littler admitted he backed himself to go all the way after the match headed to a last leg-decider.  

He said: “I think I started off okay, I wasn’t the quickest away, my cover shooting, my doubles, they all went well! 

“When Josh [Rock] hit the 161 checkout, it wasn’t a good feeling, but then I knew all I had to do was break the throw and win the game. 

“Ever since I started playing darts I have always loved a last-leg decider. I back myself with or without the darts but I knew I had to go out in eleven there.” 

Six-times major winner Littler heaped praise on the crowd and hopes to see Belgium added as a venue to the Premier League next year.  

He added: “The European tour stage, I love it. I love coming here [Belgium] and I’ve said for the past year now that we need a Premier League event here. 

“They love me here, I love them, they wanted Josh to win for a bit in that game, but for myself I had to crawl back from 4-1 down, then I knew they’d get back on my side. 

“This is it now. From now it’s back-to-back with tournaments, September and October are some of the craziest months of the calendar, I know how to deal with that and know what’s coming up.” 

Littler won four legs in a row to take a 6-5 lead against big rival Rock.

However, the Northern Irishman took out a brilliant 11-darter to level the affair 6-6 at the Xpo Arena. 

Teen sensation Littler moved in front, but Rock hit back in style, producing a stunning 161 checkout to force a decider with the 18-year-old waiting on 16.

Littler remained calm to claim the win with an 11-darter and sealed the deal by hitting double 18. 

Reigning World Champ Littler produced two brilliant ton-plus finishes, including a 113, to dispatch Daryl Gurney 7-1 in the semi-final.  

Littler edged past Damon Heta 6-5 in a tense quarter-final and averaged a whopping 110.33 to defeat Ryan Searle 6-3 in the last 16.

Image by Taylor Lanning.