Luke Littler began his quest to complete the clean sweep of major darts honours with a 6-3 opening win over Willie O'Connor at the Machineseeker European Championship in Dortmund, Germany, on Friday night. The teenager hit six 180s and now faces Nathan Aspinall in the second round.
Littler is trying to win the only major event he has yet to claim in a dominant first two years on the scene. The 19-year-old has not played since a surprise defeat at the World Youth Championship and said he has been more focused because of the extended break. "I've just got to take it one game at a time," he said, adding that he is "just happy to get back on stage and do my job." He also revealed he changed his grip and throw during the lay-off to stave off boredom in practice, and recently hit a nine-darter during practice.
Littler's path looks easier after Luke Humphries withdrew with illness and Michael van Gerwen crashed out. Van Gerwen lost 6-3 to fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets, who said it was a tough game and that he had idolised van Gerwen for years. Doets will face Krzysztof Ratajski on Saturday evening.
Ryan Joyce also had a day to forget, suffering a 6-3 defeat to Jermaine Wattimena. Littler is also set to appear in a Netflix show next week, where 24 players will compete for £501,000 by beating him in a one-off leg.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing