A number only Phil Taylor has beaten
Luke Littler averaged 114.47 in beating Nathan Aspinall 10-5 in the second round of the European Championship in Dortmund on Saturday. In the history of the tournament, only Phil Taylor has posted a higher figure, 118.14.
The start decided most of it. Littler took the first four legs in 12 darts or fewer and never let Aspinall settle. Aspinall hit ten 180s, three more than Littler, which says plenty about how the match was won: through finishing and scoring efficiency, not volume. He did claw back to 5-4, and for a few minutes the crowd had a contest. Littler then pulled away again and closed it out on double 10, after a short stoppage to deal with a heckler in the stands.
“I felt really good from the off,” Littler told ITV.
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The rest of Saturday’s last-16 results
Gerwyn Price beat Cameron Menzies 10-4 and reached his first quarter-final in three years. Stephen Bunting overcame Kim Huybrechts 10-3, hitting 10 of 18 doubles, and is into the last eight for the first time since 2014. Ross Smith saw off Damon Heta 10-7 after leading 5-0, and Luke Woodhouse ended defending champion Gian van Veen’s run with a 10-6 win.
Krzysztof Ratajski came from 8-6 down against Kevin Doets, who had beaten Michael van Gerwen in round one, and won four legs in a row for a 10-8 finish. Martin Schindler beat Jermaine Wattimena 10-4 to reach the last eight at home for the first time, and Jonny Clayton edged Josh Rock 10-8 with a 121 bull checkout after missing several match darts.
What Littler faces next
Littler has yet to win this title. He lost in the last 16 on his debut here a year ago, and defeats at the World Series of Darts and the World Grand Prix ended his hopes of a perfect season in the majors. Luke Humphries pulled out of the event through illness. Littler meets Ratajski in the quarter-finals at noon UK time today, with the semi-finals and final set for the evening session.
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