Luke Littler stops interview as he fights back tears after one of darts’ most outstanding sets in history
Luke Littler was overcome with emotion after breaking down during a live interview following his second round win over Ryan Meikle. The 17-year-old survived a scare on Saturday night to ensure his place in the third round of PDC World Championship. Sky SportsLittler failed to contain his emotion after beating Meikle in four sets[/caption] The teenager had to take a break during his live interviewSky Sports After a closely fought opening three sets, last year’s runner-up at Alexandra Palace ended up producing one of darts’ most incredible sets. In his three winning legs, he hit two 11-darters with a ten-darter sandwiched in between. He averaged a truly astonishing 140.91 average – a record average for a set in world championship history – to show fans why many consider him to be the favourite to win the tournament. His fourth set heroics saw him finish with a three-dart average of 100.85 – helped by hitting ten 180s across the match. Meikle meanwhile performed valiantly in their second round contest, with the 28-year-old boasting an impressive 91.93 average. Following Littler’s victory, he spoke to Sky Sports where he proceeded to break down his performance. He said, ‘I started off dead slow,’ before breaking down in tears. The interview then came to an abrupt end as Sky’s live coverage went to a commercial break. Following his brief interview, Littler was later seen being consoled by his parents as his mother appeared to wipe her eyes. Another image showed ‘The Nuke’ hugging his mother following what was an emotional evening session at Ally Pally. Littler said just five words during his interview before fighting back the tearsSky Sports Sky SportsThe 2024 World Championship runner-up admitted he wasn’t at his best early on[/caption] Littler was seen hugging his mum following his victoryGetty Littler’s five-word assessment of his performance at the start of the match was the truth. Meikle, who beat fan favourite Fallon Sherrock in the first round, was unfortunate to not take the first leg despite having the throw in the deciding leg. Littler pulled off a vintage 12-darter to steal the opening set, before he issued a cheeky four-message to the fans in attendance. After an animated celebration, he turned to the audience where he pointed to himself and the ground, saying: “Relax, I’m here, relax.” However he struggled to find his rhythm in the second, leading to Meikle to level up the scoring after winning in four legs. Another end-to-end set saw Littler win 3-1 on legs in the third, before the teenager put on a show for the ages in the fourth. View Tweet: https://t.co/0j9CQGYHKU Speaking later on why he was so emotional, he remarked: “It’s the worst game I’ve played. I’ve never felt anything like that tonight. It was a weird feeling. “It’s the biggest stage out there, the last tournament of the calendar year, and I had to somehow get over the line and I’m happy I did. “I shouldn’t have won that first set but I did and then you have to switch on from there. That last set, I don’t know where I pulled it from. I drank my water, said to Abi (Davies, his interviewer on stage) I was OK, then as soon as the question came, boom, tears. “I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ It was just a bit too much to try to speak on stage after that. ‘Leading up to it, I was fine, the train journey down, practice was going well, even practising on the stage was unbelievable. It was as soon as I heard ‘game on’, my bottom went again. I’m thinking, ‘What are you doing? Just relax.’ That last set, I found it.” Attention for Littler will now turn to his third round affair with either Ian White or Ritchie Edhouse after Christmas.
Luke Littler was overcome with emotion after breaking down during a live interview following his second round win over Ryan Meikle.
The 17-year-old survived a scare on Saturday night to ensure his place in the third round of PDC World Championship.
After a closely fought opening three sets, last year’s runner-up at Alexandra Palace ended up producing one of darts’ most incredible sets.
In his three winning legs, he hit two 11-darters with a ten-darter sandwiched in between.
He averaged a truly astonishing 140.91 average – a record average for a set in world championship history – to show fans why many consider him to be the favourite to win the tournament.
His fourth set heroics saw him finish with a three-dart average of 100.85 – helped by hitting ten 180s across the match.
Meikle meanwhile performed valiantly in their second round contest, with the 28-year-old boasting an impressive 91.93 average.
Following Littler’s victory, he spoke to Sky Sports where he proceeded to break down his performance.
He said, ‘I started off dead slow,’ before breaking down in tears.
The interview then came to an abrupt end as Sky’s live coverage went to a commercial break.
Following his brief interview, Littler was later seen being consoled by his parents as his mother appeared to wipe her eyes.
Another image showed ‘The Nuke’ hugging his mother following what was an emotional evening session at Ally Pally.
Littler’s five-word assessment of his performance at the start of the match was the truth.
Meikle, who beat fan favourite Fallon Sherrock in the first round, was unfortunate to not take the first leg despite having the throw in the deciding leg.
Littler pulled off a vintage 12-darter to steal the opening set, before he issued a cheeky four-message to the fans in attendance.
After an animated celebration, he turned to the audience where he pointed to himself and the ground, saying: “Relax, I’m here, relax.”
However he struggled to find his rhythm in the second, leading to Meikle to level up the scoring after winning in four legs.
Another end-to-end set saw Littler win 3-1 on legs in the third, before the teenager put on a show for the ages in the fourth.
Speaking later on why he was so emotional, he remarked: “It’s the worst game I’ve played. I’ve never felt anything like that tonight. It was a weird feeling.
“It’s the biggest stage out there, the last tournament of the calendar year, and I had to somehow get over the line and I’m happy I did.
“I shouldn’t have won that first set but I did and then you have to switch on from there. That last set, I don’t know where I pulled it from. I drank my water, said to Abi (Davies, his interviewer on stage) I was OK, then as soon as the question came, boom, tears.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ It was just a bit too much to try to speak on stage after that.
‘Leading up to it, I was fine, the train journey down, practice was going well, even practising on the stage was unbelievable. It was as soon as I heard ‘game on’, my bottom went again. I’m thinking, ‘What are you doing? Just relax.’ That last set, I found it.”
Attention for Littler will now turn to his third round affair with either Ian White or Ritchie Edhouse after Christmas.
