Luke Littler will take on Nathan Aspinall in a blockbuster clash at the World Matchplay, after opening his defence of the Phil Taylor Trophy with a sensational 10-6 win over Niko Springer in Blackpool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday\u2019s opening night saw Littler deliver a darting masterclass at the Winter Gardens, as he began his bid to become the fourth player to win back-to-back World Matchplay titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world number one produced a staggering late surge to sink debutant Springer, winning each of his last four legs in 11 darts to send out an ominous warning to his title rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt good, it felt very nice,\u201d reflected Littler, who crashed in seven maximums to move through to a meeting with 2023 champion Aspinall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a bit frustrating not going into the lead in the second break, but then I found another gear and managed to finish the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to win every major [tournament] I can this year, and now I\u2019m looking forward to playing Nathan on Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall also impressed on a pulsating night at the Empress Ballroom, averaging 105.32 to defeat Joe Cullen 10-5, in a repeat of their semi-final showdown three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Stockport star conjured a magnificent 167 checkout in seizing the early initiative, before fending off a mid-game fightback from Cullen to underline his title credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe all know Joe is a good mate of mine,\u201d admitted Aspinall \u2013 one of seven former champions in this year\u2019s field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew I had to play well tonight, but I didn\u2019t expect to play like that to be fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI put in a great performance there. I\u2019m very happy with the way I played, the way I finished and the way I conducted myself on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, Stephen Bunting won through a Winter Gardens classic against debutant Niels Zonneveld, surviving three match darts to edge past the Dutchman 13-12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bunting appeared in cruise control at 8-5 ahead, only for Zonneveld to launch a sensational fightback, following up successive ten-darters with a sublime 164 checkout to level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the left-hander squandered three match darts for an 11-9 victory and Bunting took full advantage, following up a skin-saving 118 checkout with a break of throw in the sudden-death leg to triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNiels is a fantastic player and I had to dig really deep to get through,\u201d reflected the Liverpudlian, who faces Josh Rock for a place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you look at my performances over the last few years – I know how good I can be. I need to be at my best to win this title, but my name is still in that hat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a difficult game in Josh Rock, but I want to win this, and I\u2019m going to give it everything I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2025 semi-finalist Rock ran out a comfortable 10-4 winner against Luke Woodhouse, converting 52% of his attempts at double to condemn the 37-year-old to a third consecutive opening round exit in Blackpool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy I won, but my performance wasn\u2019t great,\u201d reflected the former World Cup champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLuke and I weren\u2019t firing on all cylinders. I felt there was more in the tank tonight but it just didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is one of my favourite venues and I\u2019ve got great memories from last year, but I\u2019m not here for memories, I\u2019m here to try and win this trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Matchplay continues with a bumper double session today, headlined by three-time winner Michael van Gerwen\u2019s clash against Andrew Gilding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former champions Gary Anderson and James Wade will also be among the star attractions, while 2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton kicks off his campaign alongside Dutch duo Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RESULTS<\/strong> Luke Littler will take on Nathan Aspinall in a blockbuster clash at the World Matchplay, after opening his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-14995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Round One
<\/strong>Josh Rock 10-4 Luke Woodhouse
Stephen Bunting 13-12 Niels Zonneveld
Luke Littler 10-6 Niko Springer
Nathan Aspinall 10-5 Joe Cullen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"