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LUKE LITTLER'S LATEST HEAD-TO-HEAD, WHICH SAW THE 18-YEAR-OLD QUALIFY FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE WORLD MASTERS AGAINST RIVAL ANDY BAETENS, SAW THE CROWD GO WILD AS THE REFEREE WAS
FORCED TO INTERVENE BETH MAHONEY 08:44, 01 Feb 2025Updated 08:54, 01 Feb 2025 Luke Littler made it through to the second round of the World Masters last night (Friday, January 31) watched on
by a rather rowdy crowd. The ever-popular Littler, who celebrated his 18th birthday just 10 days ago, took to the oche where he outplayed Belgian qualifier Andy Baetens 3-0, in a match held
in Milton Keynes. A former WDF Lakeside world champion, Baetens was dumped from the revamped ranking tournament just 10 minutes and 45 seconds in thanks to Luke The Nuke’s impressive
gameplay. Littler, who is currently the darts world number two, averaged 104.33, taking six of his nine checkouts in the three set whitewash. However, chaos ensued during the darts match
when a group of fans began to whistle, prompting referee Kirk Bevins to intervene and shout at the crowd: "Stop whistling, thank you." ITV commentator John Rawling was left furious
by the unexpected noise. He said: “What sort of moron comes along to a big darts event and starts whistling?” Luckily for Littler, the whistling didn’t prove too much of a distraction, as
he secured a Last-16 clash with James Wade tonight (Saturday, 1 February). Article continues below Littler said being called out as the “reigning champion of the world” for the first time in
his home country was “amazing”. He said: “It felt amazing to hear the walk-on. Even when John McDonald called me the world champion for the first time out in Bahrain. “This is my first time
and debut here [in the UK], it’s a different format, it’s set-play. It has not sunk in yet being the world champion. I know it should. “This is darts, we have to carry on for the next
event, given all the travelling that we do. But give it a few months and it will settle in. “I’m looking forward to the Premier League again. A long 16 weeks ahead. If I can guarantee the
top I will go back to the 02 Arena and try to defend the Prem again.” However, it comes after Littler unexpectedly crashed out of the Bahrain Masters, having been beaten by former PDC World
Champion Gerwyn Price. Article continues below The 6-2 loss was Littler's first defeat since winning the PDC World Championship title as he exited at the quarter-final stage. In fact,
'The Nuke' was brought down in emphatic fashion by Price, who averaged a remarkable 115.3. Lethal at the oche, The Iceman hit 60% on his doubles, throwing seven 180s. It was too
much for the 17-year-old to handle, who admitted he was rusty after not throwing a single dart since his world title triumph on January 3 against Michael van Gerwen. Speaking after the
match, Littler said: "There weren’t any nerves. A bit of rust. A fresh set of darts. The ones I won the World Championship with are getting put away in a frame. It’s very hard to break
in a new set of darts. I played alright in patches.