World number one Luke Littler won his first Players Championship Finals title with an 11-8 victory over Nathan Aspinall in Minehead. The 18-year-old, who overtook rival Luke Humphries at the top of the rankings during last week's Grand Slam of Darts, clinched his maiden crown at the event on Sunday.
Littler reached the final with an 11-8 win over Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals, while Aspinall secured his spot with an 11-2 win over Jermaine Wattimena. In the final, Littler stormed into a 5-2 lead before Aspinall fought back, closing to 9-8 with a 127 checkout. However, Littler remained composed and hit an 88 checkout to seal the title.
Victory was Littler's sixth televised ranking title of the year. He told ITV: 'It wasn't easy. I didn't put myself high enough in the rankings, so it wasn't easy to get to this final. But I'm very proud to get this one ticked off the list. Now there's only two more to go.'
Earlier on Sunday, Littler secured a 10-5 quarter-final win over Chris Dobey, producing a match average of almost 108 with nine maximums. He then overcame Price in the semi-finals, finishing with a 108.48 average after the Welshman had reduced the deficit to 7-6.
Aspinall's path included a 10-8 quarter-final win over Josh Rock and a dominant semi-final victory over Wattimena, which featured a 10-dart leg. Prior to the final, Gian van Veen defended his World Youth Championship title with a 6-3 win over Beau Greaves.
