Luke Littler not at his best but sets up clash with Danny Noppert at Austrian Darts Open

PDC
Sunday, 28 April 2024 at 15:50
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Luke Littler is into the final session at the 2024 Austrian Darts Open. 'The Nuke' did not make a great impression Sunday afternoon, but his level was enough to beat Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3.
Especially in the early stages of the match, Littler did not play well. That allowed Ratajski to take a 3-1 lead, but he surrendered his throw by not being out in five darts in the fifth. Littler did via a 78 finish, then came back to 3-3 with an 80 finish.
After that, things started to go a lot better for Littler. A 15-darter in the seventh leg gave the Englishman his first lead of the match. Littler then closed with a 14-darter and a 13-darter.
Danny Noppert is his opponent who played a lot better at the Austrian Darts Open. In the last sixteen of the Euro Tour tournament in Graz, Austria, 'The Freeze' won 6-3 over Josh Rock.
It was a match of a tremendously high standard. Rock did throw a higher average of 106 than Noppert (102), but the Dutchman was phenomenal on the doubles with an 86 percent finishing percentage.
Rock posted a break in the first leg with an 11-darter, but Noppert struck back with a 70 finish and a 12-darter for a 2-1 lead. Rock then threw a 13-darter to level the score again. An 11-darter by 'The Freeze' and a 126 finish by Rock made it 3-3 moments later.
In the seventh leg, Noppert was not out in five innings, but Rock could not take advantage. With a 100 finish, the darter from Joure regained the lead. He then broke his Northern Irish opponent with a 12-darter to take a 5-3 lead. Rock then had three chances for a rebreak, but could not hit the double 16. Noppert punished these misses and put a beautiful 123 finish on the scoreboard to make it 6-3.