Luke Littler beats Michael van Gerwen in Premier League Darts Night Seven final to win in Cardiff with nine-dart leg chaos
PDC
Luke
Littler beat Michael van Gerwen 6-4 to win Premier League Darts Night Seven in
Cardiff, in an incredible final that saw ‘The Nuke’ hit a nine-dart leg to send
the crowd into raptures.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 18-year-old
won with an incredible 113 average on a night that saw him also beat Nathan
Aspinall and Rob Cross with ease. The victory saw him tighten his grip on the
top of the Premier League table, with closest challenger Luke Humphries losing in
his quarter-final.
It was
back-to-back-to-back breaks to start the final, with Littler flying out of the
blocks and hitting double five to take the opening leg. Van Gerwen broke
straight back, taking advantage of a rare Littler miss at tops, to hit the
double 20 himself.
The
Englishman then broke again, double 20, this time, not letting him down. In the
fourth leg, all hell broke loose. A nine-dart leg, snatching the momentum and
causing the roof to come off in Cardiff.
But Van
Gerwen responded immediately, taking out 85 to make it 3-2 after Littler failed
to reel in the big fish. The Dutchman then levelled up the scoring, hitting
five perfect darts before dispatching 16 to tie it up.
Littler
took the seventh leg, taking out 89 with the bullseye before Van Gerwen hit back
on double 10.
That left
Van Gerwen with the darts in the 10th leg but the Dutchman failed to
stop Littler taking out 25 to go one step from victory. ‘The Nuke’ took full
advantage with the throw in the final leg, and surged ahead, leaving 41 to win
in Cardiff and making no mistake.
ADVERTISEMENT
Littler dominates in Cardiff
It was seventh
versus eighth in the first quarter-final of the night, with both Chris Dobey
and Stephen Bunting in desperate need of victory. Despite poor finishing from
both players, Dobey eventually got the job done on double 16, taking a 6-2 win.
Michael van
Gerwen looked to have lost his quarter-final against Luke Humphries, with the
world number one taking a 3-0 lead. But the Dutchman did not lie down, and won four
straight legs to deny a frustrated Humphries and win 6-4.
Littler and
Aspinall traded legs to begin the third quarter-final before Littler ultimately
took charge to win four of the last five legs and win 6-3.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gerwyn
Price was the home favourite in Cardiff, but Cross was looking to cause an
upset, finishing well and taking a 4-2 lead. 4-2 became 5-2, but good scoring
from Price saw that lead fall away, with a last-leg shootout required to decide
the winner. With the fans booing his every dart, ‘Voltage’ looked to be too far
behind in the last leg, but he left the big fish and incredibly, reeled it in
to win 6-5 and defy the crowd.
The first
semi-final saw Van Gerwen dispatch Dobey with ease, to make his first Premier
League night final this year. The Dutchman dominated throughout, ultimately
winning 6-1.
And it was
a similar story in the other semi-final, with Littler making it look easy
against Cross. The 18-year-old won 6-2 to set up the final against Van Gerwen.
| Michael Van Gerwen | VS | Luke Littler |
|---|---|---|
| 101.41 | Average (3 Darts) | 112.5 |
| 6 | 100+ Thrown | 6 |
| 8 | 140+ Thrown | 8 |
| 4 | 180 Thrown | 10 |
| 85 | Highest Checkout | 141 |
| 0 | Checkout 100+ | 1 |
| 50 | Checkout percentage | 42.9 |
| 4 / 8 | Checkout | 6 / 14 |
ADVERTISEMENT
Evan is a dedicated sports journalist at DartsNews.com, with over six years of experience covering high-level competition. Since earning his NCTJ diploma in 2025, he has brought sharp analysis and rapid-fire reporting to the world of darts. Whether it’s Premier League drama or European Tour showdowns, Evan aims to deliver fast, insightful, and thrilling coverage of the sport’s biggest moments.
In short, one of our finest LIVE darts bloggers.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026
- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026