Reason for Luke Littler's defeat in first tournament since World Championship win
Reason for Luke Littler's defeat in first tournament since World Championship win
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Luke Littler blamed feeling "rusty" while struggling with a new set of darts on his shock quarter-final defeat at the Bahrain Masters on Friday. The 18-year-old came into the tournament on the high of becoming the youngest ever player to win the World Darts Championships at Ally Pally earlier this month following a 7-3 thrashing of Michael van Gerwen.
But he was brought crashing back down to earth in Bahrain as Gerwyn Price defeated him 6-2 as an incredible performance from the Welshman saw him average 115.31 and 60 per cent on his doubles. Littler said nerves didn't come into play and insisted he felt "rusty" in his first appearance since the world championship final, while also breaking in a new set of darts - with his usual set being framed after winning him the famous trophy.
"There weren’t any nerves," he said. "A bit of rust. "A fresh set of darts. The ones I won the World Championship with are getting put away in a frame. It’s very hard to break in a new set of darts..". Littler said he was not deflated by his disappointing defeat and instead was looking ahead to enjoying a full year of darts knowing he is the reigning world champion.
"I played alright in patches," he added. "And it would mean the world to me if I could come back here as world champion and defend my title. I want to win as much as I can, win more titles than I did last year and break the nine-dart record. "And I am looking forward not only to being world champion for the whole year but hearing John McDonald introduce me as the newly-crowned champion of the world.".
