Luke Littler won the second
World Series of Darts title of his young career on Saturday night by beating his compatriot Rob Cross in the final of the
Poland Darts Masters in Gliwice.
Littler triumphed earlier in the tournament against Adam Gawlas (6-4), Peter Wright (6-3) and Michael Smith (7-6) to qualify for the final. The key point in the final was the fourth leg, in which Cross missed those chances to keep his own leg and make 2-2. Littler broke him via a 16-darter and then made it 4-1 with a delightful 164 finish. Cross countered with a 116 finish, but Littler again showed his class with a 121 finish in the seventh leg. In the end, Littler prevailed 8-3.
''I'm delighted to get the win, it's an amazing feeling to lift trophies in front of massive crowds,'' Littler said after the awards ceremony in conversation with the
PDC. "I had a week off in Orlando [after the US Darts Masters] and there was a bit of rustiness at times but I've played well overall. Rob didn't play as well as he has been doing in the final and I punished him.''
It was Littler's first time playing a tournament in Poland. "I love playing in big arenas in front of thousands of people; I didn't expect 9,000 people in here tonight, it's just incredible. It's an amazing experience travelling the world on the World Series; I've loved my time in Poland,'' Littler said. "I want to win as much as I can; the first six months of the year have been really good and I can't wait for the second half of the season."
The World Series of Darts tournament in Poland was the fifth tournament of the season on the World Series circuit. In January, Luke Littler won the Bahrain Darts Masters, while Michael van Gerwen took the overall victory at the Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch.
Rob Cross captured the title in early June at the US Darts Masters in New York, and Gerwyn Price showed the best at the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen. Later this year, World Series tournaments will also be played in Australia and New Zealand before the World Series Finals take place Sept. 13-15 in Amsterdam.