Luke Littler has won the Austrian Open Darts in Graz. In the final, the seventeen-year-old darts sensation defeated his fellow countryman Joe Cullen 8-4. ‘The Nuke’ now has two victories on the European Tour and was full of praise for the Austrian audience afterwards. “You are much better than the Belgians.”
LOOK. After his victory, Littler receives the traditional green jacket and calls the Austrian fans better than the Belgian fans
Littler was clearly the better in the final. He averaged 102.71 points and a checkout percentage of 36.4 percent. Cullen did not do better than an average of 85.54 points, but did throw at one hundred percent. However, ‘The RockStar’ only had four chances for a double, while ‘The Nuke’ created 22.
In the semi-finals, Cullen had defeated Stephen Bunting (PDC-17) 7-5, while Littler disposed of Ross Smith (PDC-14) 7-2. The latter had defeated the Dutchman Michael van Gerwen (PDC-2) 6-1 a round earlier.
Green jacket
Littler also received a striking gift for his victory in addition to 30,000 British pounds (more than 35,000 euros). The winner in Graz can take home a dark green jacket, a tradition since the Euro Tour has been on the calendar in the Austrian city. According to the PDC, it is a traditional jacket in the state of Styria, where the tournament takes place. Littler donned the garment just before giving his victory interview.
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In that interview, Littler came up with a statement that Belgian fans would rather not hear. After his victory at the Belgian Darts Open, Littler was recently full of praise for the crowd, but in Austria the fans were more impressive, according to the Englishman. “I said earlier that Belgium was good, but you are better. Much better than the Belgians, 100 percent,” Littler addressed the audience, after which it exploded once more. In Liverpool, Littler, a Manchester United supporter, was treated to a lot of boos last week.
In the meantime, Littler continues to rumble along. After the World Cup, where he came second, he also won three evenings in the Premier League and is in the lead after thirteen match days. He has climbed to the top 25 on the Order of Merit in less than four months.
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LOOK. Littler also won previously in Wieze, where he scored a nine-darter against Rob Cross
LOOK. Littler was full of praise for the audience in Wieze: “Nice atmosphere here”
As a Man United fan, Luke Littler responds with a subtle finger gesture to the boos from Liverpool fans
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Tags: Littler receives striking award Austria interview Belgian fans hear Sport
