The teen sensation beat fellow young star Keane Barry 5-0 with a 112.16 average in Wolverhampton last night (Saturday). And he arrived like a Nuke with his first match against Keane Barry.
Littler, 17, hit a 121 finish and three 180s in the demolition job in his first-ever Slam match.
He said: “It was a very good performance. I’ve been practising very well. But I’m just happy to win on debut.
“Especially to win 5-0 and 112 average. I only had one trebleless visit and it was a 60. I was just thinking it’s like football, a league stage.”
On social media criticism when he loses, he added: “I’m not really bothered.
“Before the match we were backstage and Webby (Mark) Webster said ‘look at the titles he’s won’. It doesn’t matter if I lose first round, second round.
“Hopefully I can get through the first round and get into the second round for once!”
His remarkable average of 112.16 was the tenth highest average tournament score ever Littler had hit seven 100-plus scores in the match, with his highest checkout coming at 121.
He also had a striking doubles success rate of 56 per cent. Reacting to the match, one fan on social media said: “Absolutely ruthless from A second said: “That was superb from Luke Littler, looked like he was only playing at 25 per cent.”
A third added:
Another said: “What a start this is from Luke Littler. Five-nil, average 112, brutal.
Littler’s win came immediately after Michael van Gerwen had his own 5-0 whitewash win over Noa-Lynn van Leuven – whom the world number three said had received “heartbreaking” treatment going into the tournament. World Champion Luke Humphries suffered a shock 5-3 defeat
