"Didn't even know, it didn't happen": Luke Littler jokes amid lack of 180 in rare feat during New Zealand Darts Masters

Luke Littler advanced to the next round of the 2025 New Zealand Darts Masters after a tense opening match, admitting it wasn’t his best performance but expressing relief at getting through.

Littler looked to be cruising against Mark Cleaver but similar to last week, The Nuke had issues getting over the line in regards to allowing the Kiwi ace in to get a few legs and it turned into a late battle. But while he did the same against Haupai Puha in Wollongong, he won the title.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the best of games, but once again, like last week in Wollongong, I just scraped over the line,” Littler said during his post match press conference. “I’m just glad to get it over and done with, switch on for tomorrow, and hopefully have another long night.”

The young star struggled with his scoring, failing to hit a single 180 in the match. “I didn’t hit a 180? Didn't even know, it didn't happen,” he admitted. “Through the game, I said to myself if it goes three across, then I’ll change to a World Champion darts. It went four-three, and I was going to change anyway, but yeah, it just wasn’t going. Thankfully, I got over the line.”

Littler revealed that he has been tinkering with his equipment, alternating between his Black Pixels and another set of darts. “They were out for a few legs, but I’ve been throwing with the Black Pixels. They won me the Matchplay, so really I should stick to them, but it’s not going well, the fans were on my back, and their player got back into it at four across. I just had to change and get over the line,” he said.

Despite the challenging start, Littler is already looking ahead to the later stages of the tournament. “Yeah, obviously, it’s the first round. There haven’t been any upsets so far, but it’s just about getting to Saturday night. Hopefully, it’s us lads from the Premier League, and then we know how to play against each other and can play our best darts. I’m certainly up for it tomorrow,” he said.

The young player also admitted that facing unfamiliar qualifiers presents a different challenge. “It’s a bit weird. We know the likes of Ben Robb and Haupai Puha, but the other six, we don’t have a clue. Mark wasn’t the quickest, but I had to try and get into a routine—I just couldn’t find it. I’m just glad to get over the line,” Littler explained.

When asked if he was looking forward to going home, he said simply: “I am, yes. Two more steps.” Reflecting on his scoring struggles, Littler said he couldn’t remember the last time he had gone a game without a 180. “Tonight? Apart from tonight? I have no idea. For some reason, I thought I hit one. I know Mark was very close, 1-2-5s, 1-3-5s, 1-2-1s. But yeah, to not hit one is a bit of a heads-up. I need to hit one tomorrow,” he said.

Littler acknowledged that playing top players adds another layer of focus and intensity, especially when facing opponents capable of hitting back hard. "Like I said to Phil, the New Zealand qualifiers we don’t know too much about, so they could bring anything out. Mark played his part there—at 4-4, I had a look at the screen, both on 90, so he was there with me. I won’t blame my best. But yeah, it’s all focused for tomorrow. Don’t know who I’ve got yet, but I’m sure it’ll be another good night of darts,” Littler said.

With the season drawing to a close, the conversation turned to the rankings. Luke Humphries currently sits at number one, defending significant prize money, but Littler is staying relaxed about his own position.

Littler is very much likely to ascend to World Number One in the coming months and he consistently gets asked about it but admits he is staying in his own lane and isn't putting pressure on. “I think he knows what he’s got to do, but I don’t think he has to put much pressure on himself. I know I’m right behind him. I said in the Matchplay or the competition before, it wouldn’t surprise me if he went on and won everything and defended all his prize money. For me, I’m defending, well, I think it’s 200 at the Worlds—I won that at the Matchplay. So I don’t need to put pressure on myself because I’ve already won that money. I’ll be focusing on trying to go back-to-back. That prize money is defended for me,” he said.