World champion Luke Littler produced a string of superb performances to win his fifth World Series of Darts title at the inaugural Riyadh Season Saudi Arabia Darts Masters last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Littler was imperious on a thrilling night of action at the Global Theater, defeating Michael van Gerwen 8-5 to halt the Dutchman’s bid for back-to-back titles in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also overcame Gian van Veen and Gerwyn Price on his way to victory in Riyadh, before averaging 104.84 to triumph in a high-quality final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Littler was irrepressible in the opening exchanges, conjuring up a sensational 132 on the bull in leg two, while also firing in a hat-trick of 13-darters to storm into a 4-0 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Gerwen \u2013 aided by a 121 combination in leg five \u2013 rallied to reduce the deficit to 4-3, only for Littler to regain control with a 115 finish, after the Dutchman had missed three darts at double to level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pendulum continued to swing in the latter stages, but Littler retained the initiative, before crashing in a superb 11-darter to clinch the title in style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m very happy to win this title,” claimed Littler, who will celebrate his 19th\u00a0birthday on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It didn’t work out last week in Bahrain, but I’m really happy to come out to Saudi Arabia for the first time and become the first winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Michael came back well after the break, but I started to find my form again and I’m really glad to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’ll celebrate my birthday tomorrow and then I’ll go over to Dubai with my family and girlfriend and have three days off.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the night, Littler produced a breathtaking performance in his comeback victory over Van Veen, recovering from 3-0 and 4-3 adrift to triumph with a staggering 111.58 average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Champion wrapped up a 6-4 win courtesy of a blistering late burst, reeling off three consecutive legs in 11, 12 and 12 darts – which included a match-winning 124 on the bull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0world number one also overturned an early deficit against Price, hitting back from 4-2 down to avenge his defeat to the Welshman in last week’s Bahrain Darts Masters quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Gerwen, meanwhile, kicked off Finals Day with an attritional 6-4 victory over Stephen Bunting, in a remarkable contest which featured nine consecutive breaks of throw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-time World Champion then completed an impressive comeback to sink Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals, winning five of the last six legs to wrap up a 7-5 win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall converted 105 and 128 checkouts in consecutive legs to seize the early initiative, only for the Dutchman to prevail with an impressive 100.28 average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite falling\u00a0short in his bid to claim a record-extending 18th\u00a0World Series of Darts title, Van Gerwen insisted there were plenty of positives to take from his exploits in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think Luke played absolutely incredible darts tonight,”\u00a0claimed a gracious Van Gerwen, fresh from his success in Bahrain on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Being 4-0 down did not help me, but after that I managed to find my own game and own pace, but fair play to Luke, he had a fantastic tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m still there. I never give up, I always keep fighting, and I think for my first time here, I can’t really complain.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspinall set up his showdown with Van Gerwen after winning a high-quality affair against Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung, who reaffirmed his big stage credentials with another impressive display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, Price edged out Luke Humphries in a dramatic last eight tie, fighting back from 5-4 down to inflict another quarter-final exit on the world number two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the conclusion of the Riyadh Season Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, the World Series of Darts tour will resume with the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen on June 5-6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the next tournament on the horizon is the Winmau World Masters in Milton Keynes – taking place from January 29-February 1 – as Humphries bids to retain his crown at Arena MK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RESULTS Semi-Finals<\/strong>: Michael van Gerwen 7-5 Nathan Aspinall; Luke Littler 7-5 Gerwyn Price<\/p>\n\n\n\n Final<\/strong>: Luke Littler 8-5 Michael van Gerwen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" World champion Luke Littler produced a string of superb performances to win his fifth World Series of Darts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8209,"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":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-8208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","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
Quarter-Finals<\/strong>: Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Stephen Bunting; Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Man Lok Leung; Luke Littler 6-4 Gian van Veen; Gerwyn Price 6-5 Luke Humphries<\/p>\n\n\n\n