Luke Littler shines again to claim second European Tour title at Austrian Darts Open

Luke Littler has won on the European Tour for the second time this season. 'The Nuke' was far too good for Joe Cullen (8-4) in the final of the Austrian Darts Open in Graz on Sunday night.

Littler was far superior to Cullen in the final, who was still able to add some legs thanks to some strong finishes. Thanks to the final victory in Graz, Littler earned another 30,000 pounds for the various rankings, earning him a spot in the top-16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit in just three months.

The 17-year-old teenage sensation had started the tournament on Friday night with a 6-2 victory over Austrian qualifier Zoran Lerchbacher. A resounding 6-2 victory over Damon Heta followed on Saturday thanks to an average of 106. On the final day of the Euro Tour tournament in Austria, Littler won over Krzysztof Ratajski (6-3), Danny Noppert (6-5) and Ross Smith (7-2) to qualify for the final.

On the other half of the draw, Cullen reached the final of a Euro Tour event for the fourth time in his career. The Englishman had successively defeated Darius Labanauskas (6-3), Dave Chisnall (6-3), Gian van Veen (6-3) and Stephen Bunting (7-5).

In the final, Littler quickly proved the better man, but by throwing out 92 and 61, among other tricks, Cullen was able to stay close to his English compatriot until 3-3. Littler then got to 4-3 via a 14-darter, before the first break followed with a 65 check-out. Cullen pressed on one more time by throwing out 60 for 4-5, but his hopes of a comeback were immediately dashed after a 14-darter and a 66 finish from Littler. The Nuke needed only one more leg and with a 12-darter in the twelfth leg Littler won the Euro Tour title in style.