Luke Littler suffered a surprise 6-2 defeat at the hands of Dirk van Duijvenbode who progressed to his first European Tour quarter-final of the calendar year.
The 17-year-old was back in action in search of the Flanders Darts Trophy title and the £30,000 cash prize that comes with victory, but lost four consecutive legs and was knocked out by the world No. 21.
The Titan scored an average of 101.38, with eight throws over a hundred, to secure his first quarter-final on the tour for 12 months against none other than darts’ biggest name in Antwerp.
“I was so focused,” Van Duijvenbode said. “I said, ‘Dirk, if you want to win this game, you need to be at your best.’ We’ve never seen a kid like this; he has so much more to improve and he’s already unbeatable. I’m still not 100 per cent, and I won’t be this year. But winning these games gives a confidence boost.”
Littler had been hoping to bounce back from defeat in the German Masters final to Peter Wright last time out, having cried on stage and was consoled by his opponent after the sad passing of a close friend’s late father.
Littler coasted into the third round past Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena, 6-1, thanks to an incredible 111.13 average.
But he could not replicate that form against the 32-year-old, who missed a match dart but Littler was unable to take advantage and claim what would have been a spectacular comeback.
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