Luke Littler delivered a dominant performance and a cheeky verbal jab as he progressed at the PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday night.
Littler Sails Through as Bunting Falls
The defending champion, known as 'The Nuke', eased to a 4-0 victory over Austrian veteran Mensur Suljovic in their third-round clash at Alexandra Palace. Littler averaged an impressive 107 and checked out with 71% doubling accuracy in a commanding display.
However, the drama unfolded earlier in the evening when Stephen Bunting, a fellow crowd favourite and last year's semi-finalist, suffered a major upset. Bunting was defeated 4-3 by James Hurrell, making him the highest-ranked player to exit the tournament so far.
'The Luke Littler Effect' vs 'The Bunting Effect'
Following his straightforward win, a relaxed Littler couldn't resist referencing his rival's misfortune during his post-match press conference. With a grin, the teenager quipped: "The Luke Littler effect is still going strong in this tournament, I don't think the Bunting effect is going too well this tournament."
He added, "Maybe I've got the biggest fan base," before immediately offering an apology. "I had to say that, sorry," he concluded, showing the playful rivalry between the two players.
Confident Champion Issues Warning
Looking ahead to his fourth-round match, where he will face either Damon Heta or Rob Cross, Littler issued a confident warning to his future opponents. He described his win over Suljovic as feeling like a "free hit" and stated he had "no nerves whatsoever."
"No matter how you win a game, you want to win it in style. Not losing a set at all is a good thing," Littler said. He remained grounded, however, adding: "People can say whoever plays Littler next will lose, but this is darts, anyone can win or lose. I just have to show up for my next game and hopefully put in another performance like that."
The young star's quest for back-to-back world titles continues on Sunday, December 29th, at Ally Pally.
