Luke Littler was beaten by Robert Grundy in the opening round of Players Championship 13, with Ross Smith beating Wesley Plaisier in the final; watch Littler make his Betfred World Matchplay debut from July 13 on Sky Sports
Luke Littler carded one of the lowest averages of his career and won a 30-dart leg during a shock first-round exit to Robert Grundy at Players Championship 13 at Milton Keynes.
Ross Smith ultimately emerged victorious, clinching a fifth ranking title of his career with a thrilling 8-7 win over Wesley Plaisier in the final.
The double-header in Milton Keynes is the last chance for players to secure their place at the Betfred World Matchplay, with the 32-player field confirmed after the conclusion of Players Championship 14 on Wednesday.
The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit will be seeded for July’s showpiece event in Blackpool, and they will be joined by 16 qualifiers from the 12-month ProTour Order of Merit.
Gary Anderson will head up the 16 qualifiers from the one-year ProTour Order of Merit, with Littler already confirmed for a place in the Winter Gardens line-up after his impressive season.
The Premier League champion, playing for the first time since his Poland Darts Masters success, struggled to a 79.02 average against Grundy and only posted one maximum in the best-of-11 contest at the Marshall Arena.
Littler lost the first two legs but broke back in the third and fired an 86 finish in the next to level the contest, before moving ahead after coming through a remarkable 30-dart fifth leg where both players missed numerous looks at double.
A hold in the next gave the teenager a two-leg cushion before Grundy won the next three, with Littler needing an 86 checkout in the 10th to take the contest to a final-leg decider.
Grundy opened with a maximum and took out tops for a 16-dart leg to hold throw and complete a shock victory, seeing the world No 116 progress to the last 64 and leave Littler heading for an early exit.
It was Smith who ultimately emerged victorious. After hitting a 170 checkout in the opening leg of the final, he then raced into a 5-1 lead, only for Plaisier to respond with five of the next six legs to level the scores at 6-6.
The Dutchman fashioned a 127 finish to force a deciding leg which Smith eventually converted, much to his relief, on his fifth match dart.
“I felt like I needed to get the win there and win a final,” he said. “I’ve lost in two European Tour finals this year, so this was massive for me.”
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