"If you try and get in my head, you're getting it" – Luke Littler fired up by Ricardo Pietreczko’s “mind-games” in Minehead

Luke Littler has admitted he was fired up by what he perceived as mind-games from Ricardo Pietreczko, as the world number one battled through patches of frustration to eventually seal a realtively comfortable 10-6 victory and reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 Players Championship Finals in Minehead.

The 18-year-old, who averaged 102.67 and produced six 180s in another power scoring display, found himself in an unexpectedly tense scrap after early double trouble allowed Pietreczko to settle and edge 3-2 ahead at the first break. But it was the German’s comments during the interval – when the ITV cameras were not yet live – that lit the fuse under “The Nuke”.

According to Littler in his post-match press conference, Pietreczko told him: “I expected to get one leg and now I’ve got five.” The reaction was instant.

“In my head I’m just like: what are you on about?” Littler said afterwards. “I genuinely said to myself, you’re getting it. I’m going to win this now. And I did.”

Littler had already admitted he planned to recreate the infamous 121 finish that caused tensions between the pair on the European Tour last season. And when the opportunity came at 8-5, he delivered it in the most Littler way possible: bull, treble 7, bull.

“I was always planning to do it,” he smiled. “I was trying to leave 147 as much as I possibly could as well to take it out again.”

The teenager also didn’t deny letting a bit of needle fuel him after Pietreczko’s remark. “When he’s saying all that stuff, I just said to myself: you’ve really got to win this game,” he said. “And when I went three legs clear, that’s when I showboated a little bit.”

From 5-5 at the second break – where Littler finally levelled after punishing Pietreczko’s first real wobble on the outer ring – the world number one reeled off four straight legs to take full control, surviving a missed dart from Pietreczko to tie the match at 6-6 before surging away.

Despite the fireworks later on, Littler was the first to admit he made life harder than necessary.

“I missed a few doubles and if I’d hit them, I probably would have gone two, three, four legs clear,” he reflected. “But I didn’t, and he took his chance.”

The match was a tug-of-war early on: Pietreczko punished Littler’s misses to lead 2-1, Littler replied with a spectacular 10-darter to close the session at 3-2, and the pair continued exchanging holds until the pivotal tenth leg, where Littler landed the break he needed.

From there, the numbers told the story. Littler out-scored Pietreczko in every major category and almost sealed victory with an unorthodox route on 50 – missing bull for the flourish, but cleaning up double 5 moments later.

With Luke Humphries already out, the door appears open for Littler to collect yet another major inside his first two years as a professional. But the teenager doesn’t see it that way.

“I wouldn’t say so,” he insisted. “I don’t even know what seed Luke was. I don’t even know what seed I was. If we ever meet early on, it’s the same – we’ll both play our best. If it’s a final, better for us because it’s a longer game.”

And while he is still targeting a complete set of PDC majors – “I want to win one of every major… there’s only three left to go” – he stressed he is taking Minehead round by round.

He’ll have to be up early again for his quarter-final, something he laughs about but doesn’t relish. “I don’t like waking up in the morning, but it’s what we’ve got to do,” he joked.

But one thing is crystal clear: anyone who tries to needle him on stage might want to think twice. “If you try and get in my head, I’ll just do what I do – 180s – and then I’ll bring out the showboats.”

A warning delivered with a smile… but backed up by an emphatic statement on the stage.