Luke Littler, 17, loses Premier League Darts semi-final vs Michael van Gerwen as fans spot HUGE technique change
LUKE LITTLER was eventually dumped out of the Premier League Darts semi-finals in a blockbuster contest with Michael van Gerwen.
And that came after stunning fans by showing off his shock brand-new throwing style in Newcastle.
The pair traded holds of throw over the first four legs of the match, with both men struggling to find their top form.
Littler, 17, eventually found the first 180 of the match at 2-2 and missed tops to close it out – only for eventual final winner Van Gerwen to mess up needing 16.
The Nuke then failed with two shots at his beloved double ten – hitting just two of his first 17 doubles – and was eventually made to pay as the Dutchman got the first break of the match before a superb hold for 4-2.
A double ten helped Littler over the line to narrow the gap but eventual winner on the night Van Gerwen restored his two-leg lead with ease to move within one of the final.
He was pegged back by an emphatic 12-dart leg from the teenager and then missed SIX match darts at 5-4 to give Littler a surprise foothold.
But the reigning Premier League champ kept his head in the decider, finishing in style with double 18, double 18 before letting out an almighty roar and sharing a warm embrace with his new rival.
Littler had earlier scraped past Peter Wright 6-5 in a thrilling quarter-final.
The teen opened a fan’s Fifa pack during his walkout to the oche then raced into a 2-0 lead but was pegged back to 2-2 by Snakebite.
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He then checked out with a staggering 170 – celebrating it pretending to reel in the Big Fish.
Wright broke back trailing 4-2 and then made it 4-4 as the Scot played the best darts of his 2024 Premier League campaign.
Littler missed three leg darts at 4-4 and Wright took full advantage with a clutch double ten.
Wright missed a match dart on the double eight and Littler hit back in style, levelling the quarter-final at 5-5 with tops.
And Littler closed it out on his throw to survive an almighty scare and book his place in the final four.
But fans watching the action at home were fixated on his change of technique which saw the Nuke set his arrows before releasing rather than having one smooth motion – although he appeared to revert back to his previous style at times against MVG.
One said: “Luke Littler appears to have made an adjustment to his throw since the ProTour in midweek and it turns out he’s even better. Insane.”
Another wrote: “Only just tuned into the Premier League but Littler has changed his throw ever so slightly, he’s setting the dart more. He’s done this before but never this frequently, and he’s still unreal.”
A third asked: “Why has Luke Littler completely changed his throw?”
In the opening match of the night, Nathan Aspinall downed Michael Smith 6-5 before Rob Cross edged out Luke Humphries by the same scoreline.
Michael van Gerwen then saw off Gerwyn Price 6-4 to set up his semi-final with Littler.
Aspinall ousted Cross to book his spot in the final before Littler and Van Gerwen went head to head.
And Littler’s conqueror proved his class in the final, getting the better of Aspinall 6-4 to complete a hat-trick of Premier League wins in the last three weeks.