Luke littler sends warning to gerwyn price after booking pl semi-final showdown

Luke littler sends warning to gerwyn price after booking pl semi-final showdown


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Darts ace Luke Littler has warned Gerwyn Price that he made a "mistake" by finishing fourth in the Premier League, setting up a semi-final clash with the world champion at the O2.


Littler rounded off an unprecedented league campaign with his sixth nightly win in Sheffield, amassing 45 points – a record tally for the competition's current format – and securing top


spot for a semi-final bout with Price next Thursday. Price, who was on course to face Luke Humphries before squandering a 5-1 lead against Chris Dobey in Sheffield, allowing Nathan Aspinall


to overtake him, now faces a formidable opponent in Littler. Despite trailing Price with a 7-6 head-to-head record, including six consecutive defeats, Littler is confident of turning the


tables at the upcoming play-offs. "Gezzy was 5-1 up, if he won that game he would have been third," Littler remarked. "Is that a mistake? Certainly I am ready for next week.


He has the record against me, but it is the O2. "It's a long 16 weeks, but when you're in the position I've been in, number one for pretty much throughout the whole


Premier League you have just got to stay there. "That first semi-final is so crucial to get over the line and get to the final. Hopefully I can pick up the big one next week. "I am


very happy to break the records I have broken this year. But for myself, winning in Sheffield is a massive boost and a massive bonus and it gives me a lot of confidence going forward next


week." Should Littler triumph over Price, a showdown with either Humphries or Nathan Aspinall awaits in his bid to retain last year's crown. Aspinall claimed his place in the


semi-finals after defeating Michael van Gerwen, who missed the play-offs for only the second occasion in over a decade. Van Gerwen's form has dipped markedly, as he struggles to keep


pace with frontrunners like Littler and Humphries. However, Littler anticipates a comeback from the Dutchman, noting: "I remember we did some interviews for the Premier League leading


up to it, and me and Michael both said once the hunger goes out of us, then we'll stop playing. "But the hunger it's definitely not out of him. We know Michael, he'll


bounce back." The build-up to Littler's triumph in Sheffield was tainted slightly by Manchester United's Europa League final defeat at the hands of Tottenham on Wednesday


evening. The darts prodigy, aged 18, shared that watching the match in a local bar left him dismayed at his beloved team's performance: "Shambles. Even losing that game everyone


knows what it means financially for the club. "But fair play to Spurs."