Littler Secures Spot in Grand Slam Semi-finals

Luke Littler, making his debut at the Grand Slam of Darts, secured a place in the semi-finals with a decisive 16-2 win against Jermaine Wattimena. The 17-year-old displayed formidable form in Wolverhampton against his Dutch opponent, hitting seven 180s within the first five legs of the match. In the second leg, he narrowly missed a nine-dart finish by failing to hit double 12. Littler is set to compete against former world champion Gary Anderson for the first time in Sunday’s semi-finals, after the Scot defeated Gian van Veen of the Netherlands 16-14. Anderson, 53, initially fell behind 4-2 against his 22-year-old rival but then won seven of the subsequent eight legs to take control. Van Veen managed to reduce the deficit to a single leg on five separate occasions; however, Anderson held firm and appeared strong on his own throw, reaching the semi-finals for the seventh time. Littler, who had previously claimed a narrow 10-9 victory over Mike de Decker in the last 16, prevented Wattimena from gaining any momentum in the match, creating and then decisively converting scoring opportunities. He achieved checkouts of 167, 164, 110, and 110, marking his fourth major semi-final appearance of the current year. “I felt confident coming in tonight,” Littler told Sky Sports. “I played so well and I’m happy. Fair play to Jermaine but I was too good tonight.” Sunday’s other semi-final will feature Mickey Mansell of Northern Ireland competing against England’s Martin Lukeman.