Luke Littler knocked out in semi-finals in first event since turning 18 as Rob Cross wins Dutch Darts Masters to pocket £30,000 prize
Luke Littler knocked out in semi-finals in first event since turning 18 as Rob Cross wins Dutch Darts Masters to pocket £30,000 prize
Share:
World champion Luke Littler was knocked out in the semi-finals at his first tournament since turning 18 as Rob Cross won the Dutch Darts Masters on Saturday. Cross, the former world champion, beat Stephen Bunting 8-5 in the final to lift the World Series trophy and take home the £30,000 prize money.
![[Luke Littler failed to reach the final as he lost a thriller to Bunting in the semi-finals]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/25/23/94518645-14325711-image-a-1_1737848686728.jpg)
World No 5 and top seed Bunting had progressed to the showpiece match in Den Bosch with a thrilling 7-6 victory over Littler in a last-leg decider. Littler, competing at his first tournament as an adult, reached the last four with a 6-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen in a repeat of the World Championship final at Alexandra Palace earlier this month.
But the 18-year-old would go no further as Bunting got the better of Littler, despite the teenage sensation recording a tournament record average of 107.59. Cross beat Gerwyn Price 7-3 to set up a meeting with Bunting, one of the most popular players on the circuit.
Rob Cross beat Stephen Bunting in the final to win the Dutch Darts Masters on Saturday. Luke Littler failed to reach the final as he lost a thriller to Bunting in the semi-finals. And he continued the clinical darts he had shown throughout the tournament in the Netherlands on his way to a victory which earned him a fifth title on the World Series circuit.
