"I was in the front row watching" - Jermaine Wattimena left helpless against rampant Luke Littler

Jermaine Wattimena faced Luke Littler in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. Sadly for the 36-year-old Dutchman, he was convincingly beaten 16-2 by the 17-year-old sensation. Wattimena did not even play badly, but came up against Littler against his very best.

With Littler firing in a 105.1 average and 12 maximums en route to victory, the Dutchman simply stood no chance against the barrage put on by 'The Nuke'. Nevertheless, Wattimena, who came to this Grand Slam of Darts full of confidence, having recently reached the final at the recent European Championship can look back at some more strong performances and another deep run at a major this week in Wolverhampton.

"You don't do much about it," he admitted afterwards to Dutch broadcasters Viaplay. "I can be in such good shape myself, but if he throws like he did today, he will win the tournament on one leg. Right from the start of the match he was pumping in the 180s. After the first five legs we were down to nine 180s together, he seven and I two, he just kept going. His finishes were great too, including a 167 and a 164, what on earth can you do against that?" Wattimena rightly wondered.

In total, it took Littler just around 25 minutes to dismantle Wattimena on Saturday night. "I was in the front row watching his show, that's how it really felt," laughs 'The Machine Gun'. "This was so bizarre, I didn't even feel like I played that badly at all. But you can't do anything with it, I took a beating and left the few little chances I got unused. But that was also because of the pressure he kept putting on me. Let's move on to next week (Players Championship Finals ed.)."

Wattimena will take on Alan Soutar next weekend in the first round of the Players Championship Finals. If it may be any small consolation, Littler cannot meet him there until the final at the earliest.