LUKE LITTLER teased the crowd just seconds before sealing an unbelievable victory over Peter Wright in the UK Open.
The world champion, 18, threatened to throw away victory having led 7-4 and 9-7 – even missing a match dart – as Wright stormed back to 9-9.
Snakebite, 54, rolled back the years with a scintillating performance to prove he could well wrestle his way back into Premier League contention next year.
But in the 19th and deciding leg, his red-hot form faded and gave Littler six darts at victory.
The Warrington thrower had a ‘Big Fish’ 170 checkout available and he left fans on the edge of their seats by nailing two triple 20s to leave just the bullseye for victory.
Littler cracked a cheeky grin to the crowd as he rifled his arrow into the 10 bed.
The packed Butlin’s crowd groaned and jeered at the safety first approach, having averaged a stunning 109 for the match.
But Littler wagged his finger and mouthed “not a chance” to the audience.
With Wright miles behind, the teenager was able to check out and sneak a thrilling 10-9 win to progress to the last 16.
But fans were still reeling from his Big Fish avoidance, with one taking to X to say: “Littler not going Bull for the big fish to win is criminal!”
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Another said: “Littler had the 170 played it sensible and leave double top..?”
A third wrote: “Littler teasing the 170 for the match is ludicrous by the way. Unbelievable game of darts!!”
The mesmerising match came just 24 hours after Littler became a Premier League record holder, despite losing in the final to Luke Humphries.
He hit a phenomenal TEN 180s against Bunting, marking a new record for the most maximums ever registered by a single player in the current Premier League format.
Moments earlier, the Manchester United fan was left fuming after an over-excited man pushed his MUM during his walk-on.
Littler’s mum, Lisa, was in the VIP section as usual to hug her son on his way to the stage for the Bunting clash.
However, as the pair linked up, Littler’s mum was barged aside by another fan.
It saw the 18-year-old stare down the fan in sheer rage as his intro music continued in the distance.
One fan even commented: “Genuinely thought Littler was gonna scrap someone there.”
Inside Littler’s massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has then gone on to win a host of PDC events and the Premier League title – which he claimed at the O2 Arena by beating world champion Luke Humphries in May.
He also finished his first season in the World Series as the No1 ranked player.
He has joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
But he is newly single after splitting from girlfriend Eloise Milburn following a 10-month relationship.
Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.
