Luke Littler’s frustrations were on show just moments before he survived a spirited Adam Gawlas comeback to progress through round one of the Poland Masters on Friday. The Nuke appeared to purposely miss a match dart to set himself on a more favourable double after squandering two opportunities to put the match to bed.
Littler defeated Gawlas 6-4, avenging the first defeat of his senior career at the hands of the Czech qualifier at last year’s UK Open.
But the 17-year-old was made to work for his victory, having led the match 5-1 before fending off an ominous fightback.
Littler was in action during a star-studded opening night of the Poland Masters in Gliwice, which saw seven of the eight seeded players progress.
His training partner Nathan Aspinall was the exception, falling to a 6-4 defeat against Boris Krcmar, who recorded an average of almost 98.
Littler only just got the job done against Gawlas after enjoying a well-earned break at several theme parks around Florida earlier this month.
The Premier League Darts champion looked in the mood as he raced into a 5-1 advantage, but that was cut to 5-4 in the three legs that followed.
Join our new darts WhatsApp community for all the latest darts news
Gawlas’ momentum halted in a disappointing 10th leg, but Littler very nearly offered the 22-year-old an opportunity to draw level with some shaky throwing on the doubles.
Littler hit a smooth 120 to chop his required score down to six after 12 darts, while Gawlas was nowhere to be seen with 213 to notch.
But the Warrington-born sensation aimed too low with his first effort at double three. He went a little closer to the wire with his second but still missed the target.
After a slight pause as he wore an annoyed look on his face, Littler abandoned double three and hit two instead.
While it was down to frustration, it was a smart play by the teenager, considering Gawlas wasn’t yet on a double himself, meaning he was guaranteed to return to the board.
Littler has set up a quarter-final clash against Peter Wright on Saturday, and he wasn’t surprised by the challenge he faced to get there.
“I’m looking forward to it. I love playing in front of big crowds, so hopefully I can put on a show for them and get the win,” Littler said after his 6-4 triumph.
“It was going to be tough no matter who I played. I think it’s a really strong field of players, and I know what Adam is capable of.”
