Luke Littler sealed a last-gasp spot in the Players Championship finals on Wednesday and took the time to hit back at his critics after the win in Wigan.
Despite the tremendous success Littler has had in 2025, he was still short of qualifying for the Players Championship finals, and after crashing out in the first round on Tuesday, his chances were not looking good.
Going into the Players Championship 32, Littler was still £2,500 short of qualifying for the finals in Minehead with three rounds left, but after securing an emphatic 8-2 win against Dennie Olde Katler in the final, he fired back at fans on social media who said he would not make it.
After the event, the 18-year-old said, “I am on social media. Lots of people were saying that I wasn’t going to make it.
“There you go, I’ve won today.”
He also took aim at critics who slammed him for entering the World Youth Championship.
Just hours after he beat world number one Luke Humphries, he lost out to Beau Greaves in the youth tournament.
The Nuke was quick to point out he was not the only tour player that took part in the event, saying, “The likes of Gian van Veen, tour card holder, Keane Barry, tour card holder, but I’m the one who gets it in the neck.
“I didn’t win, so obviously a lot of people were happy.
“I just thought I’d come and get used to playing first to five and first to six. That’s what I did today and yesterday.”
Littler did not have it easy at the Players Championship as he fell behind against a number of opponents before roaring his way back.
He comfortably beat Dylan Slevin, Jeffrey de Graaf, and Adam Lipscombe to ease his way into the fourth round in Wigan.
He then ended up 3-0 down against Adam Hunt before hitting some spectacular throws to claw his way back into the contest. He also got off to a slow start against Rhys Griffin before repeating his comeback to set up an all-Premier League semi-final against Steve Bunting.
The two darting greats traded throws as the Nuke edged out Bunting’s average of 107 with a 109. The match ended with a bizarre checkout for the 18-year-old as he chose to take 25-D18-D18 for a 97 out that even left Bunting laughing.
The final was a dominant display, which we have become accustomed to from The Nuke ever since he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old.
Littler averaged 111 as he beat world Number 140 Olde Katler 8-2.
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This win in Wigan was the first in the Players’ Championship of 2025 for Littler, who reacted on social media following the win with the caption, “pressure... what pressure”.
He jumped to 34th in the rankings with the victory, meaning he has a locked-in place for the finals in Minehead and is one step closer to toppling Humphries at the top of the PDC world rankings.
Littler is only £70,000 away from the top spot, with a £120,000 prize on offer at Minehead, it could be one of the few opportunities Littler has to take the number one spot from Humphries before the end of the year.
He also has the chance to take the top spot later this month at the European Championship. The prize in Dortmund is another £120,000, meaning Littler could go into Minehead as the top-ranked player if he performs in Germany.
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