Sport

Luke Littler hits sensational nine-darter as he wins first European title on his Tour debut in Belgium

Yep, this kid’s gonna go on to win everything, isn’t he?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 11th March 2024

Luke Littler is at it again as he rounded off a blockbuster weekend of sport with a star showing of his own, winning not only his second senior title but his first European trophy, and on his debut.

He’s an absolute machine and yes, he’s still only 17.

The teenager played four nights in a row to make it to the final of the Belgian Darts Open title, his first PDC event in Europe, meeting Rob Cross in the last round and going on to beat him 8-7 in a truly thrilling final which featured numerous impressive checkouts — none better so than a superb nine-darter.

Hitting a record number of 180s for the European Tour not only in the match itself but throughout the tournament, notching a whopping 30 maximums all told, he was a crowd-pleaser from the start but the big moments didn’t get any bigger than this:

Luke Littler’s nine-darter at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze sends the Belgian crowd berserk. Just look at the reaction.

As you can tell from Cross’ extremely congratulatory response when the final dart goes in, graceful in defeat as always, there was nothing but admiration for this young man’s talent and immense calm no matter how big the stage.

ADVERTISEMENT

You could see how chuffed the Warrington-born teenager was to meet the expectations of the crowd in the decisive leg too, putting on the kind of show European darts fans will no doubt have been hoping for from him, especially after seeing what he did at the World Championships and the Bahrain Masters.

It wasn’t all so warm and welcoming in Belgium though, as his Littler’s semi-final opponent Ricardo Pietreczko (a.k.a. ‘Pikachu’) had some choice words for him as they went in for a parting handshake, with the German labelling the young darting superstar “arrogant” in a frustrated Instagram post afterwards.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bemused by the on-stage square-up more than anything, it didn’t seem to bother him too much as he promptly went to fist-pump his 7-3 win in front of the crowd on the night and, thankfully, he had plenty of supporters when it came to the final. Here’s how he sealed the victory:

Littler wins on European debut and does a littler dance for good measure. Sure Pietreczko enjoyed that one…

Read more:

Next up for Luke Littler is night seven in the Premier League of Darts over at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Thursday, 14 March, where we’re sure he’ll be riding a wave of confidence fresh from his second title since stepping up to the big leagues after what still feels like just five minutes ago.

If you don’t yet believe that Luke ‘The Nuke’ is going to be/is already well on his way to becoming the real deal, we don’t know what to tell you.

ADVERTISEMENT

Just watch how cool, composed and utterly clinical he is up on the oche this season — his first full one, let us remind you — and maybe you’ll start to believe the hype.

He’s also fast become one of our favourite sporting personalities overall and is clearly embracing that side of things and his obvious popularity. For instance, he’s already starring in cereal adverts – as you do.

Darts sensation Luke Littler is now starring in cereal adverts for the Sidemen’s new breakfast brand
Promoting a cereal brand called ‘The BEST’. He’s living the dream.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Official PDC (via X/screenshot)

Sport

Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.

We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?

Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.

And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.

The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.

Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.

At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.

And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).

But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.

Read more:

That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.

Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.

Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)

Sport

Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester Storm's return to the AO Arena. Credit: Supplied

Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.

The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.

But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.

Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.

Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.

The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.

The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.

“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.

“We advise attendees to retain their tickets which will remain valid for the rescheduled fixture.

“Those with single-game tickets for this game and seeking a refund are advised to contact their point of purchase.

“The rescheduled game will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026.

“Manchester Storm and AO Arena would like to thank attendees for their understanding.”

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

More Sport

Old Trafford seats

Manchester

Referees admit Manchester City’s derby-winning goal over Manchester United was a VAR ‘error’

Manchester Storm's return to the AO Arena. Credit: Supplied

Manchester

Manchester Storm’s record-breaking return to AO Arena goes down a storm with fans

Sport

Erling Haaland has named his four favourite films… and fans have a lot to say on it

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches