Luke Littler Dominates Cross to Reach Second Round

Luke Littler advanced to the second round of the Players Championship with a dominant 6-0 win over Rob Cross. The 17-year-old took an early break of throw and seized the opportunity when Cross missed a bullseye for the fourth leg. Littler, who had recently won the Grand Slam of Darts, comfortably finished the match with a 112.73 average and four 180s. He will now face fellow Englishman Ritchie Edhouse in the next round.

Reigning world champion Luke Humphries also cruised into the second round with a 6-2 victory over Germany’s Gabriel Clemens. Humphries opened with an impressive 11-dart leg taking a 4-0 lead. Although Clemens fought back, winning two legs, he missed the chance to narrow the gap further. Humphries then wrapped up the match, setting up a meeting with Raymond van Barneveld. In a major upset, Michael van Gerwen was knocked out by Ian White, who triumphed 6-1.

White, ranked 59th, produced an excellent 102.69 average while van Gerwen struggled. Top seed Chris Dobey also faced an early exit, falling 6-1 to Nathan Aspinall. Gerwyn Price suffered a surprise 6-4 defeat to world number 83 Thibault Tricole while Ryan Meikle completed a thrilling 6-5 win over Gary Anderson after a strong fightback. Peter Wright and Stephen Bunting also bowed out of the tournament both losing 6-1 and 6-2 to Daryl Gurney and Mario Vandenbogaerde, respectively.

The day’s results saw several big names eliminated, highlighting the unpredictability of the tournament and setting up exciting second-round matchups.