LETHAL LITTLER EXTENDS PREMIER LEAGUE LEAD

By Aaron Nijjar 

LUKE LITTLER extended his lead at the top of the Premier League table after winning Night Eight in Newcastle.  

World Champion Littler defeated Stephen Bunting, Rob Cross and Luke Humphries on his way to a fourth success in the 2025 event. 

‘The Nuke’ also passed a century of 180s for the season before any of the other seven players had hit the 50 mark. 

Five-time major winner Littler is eight points clear of second-placed Humphries and has 26 points at the halfway stage of the league phase – a tally that would have been good enough to secure a top-four finish and a place in the play-offs last year. 

Teen sensation Littler won the first nine legs he played at Utilita Arena, thrashing Bunting 6-0 in his quarter-final before going 3-0 up against Cross on his way to a 6-3 semi-final victory. 

Against world number one Humphries, Littler raced into a 4-0 lead before completing a comfortable 6-1 win.  

Littler admitted afterwards: “Us players have just got to refresh ourselves and re-charge the batteries. 

“I just want to put some more points on the board. It’s always important to win the first game and get the points. That’s my goal from now on. 

“It’s another week, more points on the board, another nightly win, and now I am sitting even more comfortable at the top, even more points ahead. 

“Now I am settled even more going into the next few weeks. Do I look settled? That’s me.” 

18-year-old Littler finished the night with ten 180s – giving him 102 for the Prem season after just eight nights. 

That’s way clear of Humphries in second place on 50, with seven-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen totalling 43 and Nathan Aspinall 42. 

After beating Humphries with a below-par show, Littler suggested a hectic schedule was taking its toll. 

He admitted: “I said to Luke there, I don’t know how we played that game, we were both tired. 

“But that is what happens when you have to play three games in a night. You can get tired. I am just glad that I dug myself over the line.” 

Humphries agreed as he later posted on X: “Happy to get to the final tonight in the amazing city of Newcastle! Crowd were insane! 

“Unfortunately me and Luke just ran out of steam in the final.. especially myself gutted to play like that but there wasn’t much left in the tank! and I hope to put it right next week in Berlin. Thank for the amazing support.” 

Littler himself added: “As a player, you should always be playing against the board. But I am playing too well for them not to be playing against the board as well as me. 

“The winning feeling drives me on. Even winning the first game, I am very happy, and then you know you can relax, go on to the semi-finals, see what you can do, and then go to the final. 

“Even when I came down to the bottom of the stairs, I was tired, I didn’t want to come up here. 

“It’s another trophy, and there were another two points on the line.” 

‘Cool Hand’ ended a run of three successive Premier League losses by beating home favourite Chris Dobey in his quarter-final, before getting past Nathan Aspinall in the deciding leg of a high-quality semi-final. 

World No. 4 Cross and Aspinall – fifth and sixth in the table respectively – achieved crucial quarter-final wins to boost their hopes of reaching the play-offs on 29 May. 

‘Voltage’ beat Gerwyn Price to move level on points with the 2021 world champion from Wales, while Aspinall overcame Van Gerwen 6-5 in his last-eight tie. 

Image by Taylor Lanning.