Luke Littler fought past Nathan Aspinall 10-9 in a deciding leg to reach the World Series of Darts Finals quarter-finals in Amsterdam. The world number one secured the dramatic victory with a 12-darter against the throw, keeping his bid for an unprecedented clean sweep alive ahead of Sunday’s matches.
The path to the last eight in Amsterdam proved anything but straightforward for the world champion. Facing fellow Englishman Nathan Aspinall in a repeat of their high-stakes encounters—following a World Matchplay classic in July where Littler threw a nine-darter in the opening leg of an 11-8 victory—Littler found himself trailing 9-8 in a best-of-19 contest before engineering a tense comeback. He held his throw to level the score before sealing the 10-9 victory with a clinical 12-darter against the darts. The pace of the game suits us both, we're good friends and we bring the best out of each other,
said Littler, who has a chance to complete a clean sweep of the PDC’s premier events in 2026. I only played well in the last session [from 6-6 onwards]. In the first two sessions, I didn't feel confident but I managed to get it to 6-6 and I was very good in the third.
Overcoming Hostile Crowds and Slow Starts
Littler’s journey to the latter stages required navigating more than just tough opponents. Earlier in the competition, the teenager had to battle past Danny Noppert and a lively Dutch crowd that functioned effectively as an away crowd. Noppert capitalized on a sluggish start by the world number one to break in the third leg and claim a 3-1 lead, echoing memories of several nights at this year’s Premier League Darts when Littler faced whistles and jeers throughout the series on his way to winning the title, revealing afterwards he wanted to quit the invitational event.
The turning point arrived in the sixth leg when Noppert made a mess of a 44 checkout. Littler punished the mistake to break back and make it 3-3, letting out a huge roar and putting his hands to his ears, asking the crowd for more noise as they booed him loudly. After Noppert missed two darts to restore his break advantage in the next leg, the teenager took out a superb 95 checkout with tops-tops to move 5-4 ahead and broke his opponent to win the match.
Coming back from a losing position to win is always a great feeling,
said Littler, who won the World Series of Darts Finals in 2024.
I'm not putting pressure on myself. I am just focusing on round by round.
The Chased Clean Sweep and Familiar Foes
With every major tournament win under his belt this year, Littler is positioning himself for history. Should Littler win this weekend and win the following two tournaments, the World Grand Prix and European Championship, he would become the first player to hold every major darts title at the same time. He would then set about trying to complete a remarkable clean sweep in November at the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship finals, but he’s taking things one match at a time.
Reflecting on his second-round opponent, Littler acknowledged the fierce competition he expects from Aspinall. Nathan always throws everything at me. He produces his best, I perform at my best, and hopefully it's another great game tomorrow,
said Littler, adding: It would be one of the best darts achievements if I could pull it off [the clean sweep], but it's still a very long way away.
The world number one now looks ahead to facing former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
How the Rest of the Field Shaped Up
While Littler and Aspinall delivered a thriller, the broader tournament draw featured a series of close finishes and tight margins on Friday. Former world champion Gerwyn Price raced into a 5-0 lead against Brody Klinge before the Australian fought back to 5-4 and Price stumbled over the line to secure a 6-4 win. Price later progressed further courtesy of a 10-5 win against Canada’s Jim Long.
Jonny Clayton also advanced to the quarter-finals by beating Japan’s Motomu Sakai 10-8. Clayton had earlier reached the last eight after he was 4-0 up before missing several match darts on his way to a 6-3 win over Maik Kuivenhoven, who was called up as a late replacement for Lourence Ilagan after the Philippines player withdrew due to visa issues. Clayton is one of two Welshmen in the last eight alongside Price. James Wade was the other winner in Saturday’s evening session, defeating Wessel Nijman of the Netherlands, and Wade will face Price next in the quarter-finals.
Sunday Quarter-Final Showdowns in Amsterdam
The tournament now shifts decisively to Sunday’s quarter-finals session in Amsterdam. Luke Littler returns to the oche to face Jonny Clayton, while Gerwyn Price locks horns with James Wade. Stephen Bunting has noted that Luke Littler has ‘changed’ Darts since bursting onto the scene a few years ago, though Bunting believes ‘The Nuke’ won’t win as many world titles as darts legend Phil Taylor. The remaining matches will determine who survives the penultimate day of competition as the world champion continues his pursuit of an unprecedented sweep of the Professional Darts Corporation’s premier events.
