The Nuke Strikes Again: Littler Bosses Night 8 in Newcastle
- Darts Central
- Mar 28
- 8 min read
Night 8 of the Premier League roadshow saw Newcastle take centre stage at the Utilita Arena. The Geordie faithful had a local hero to cheer on in Chris Dobey, and they didn’t disappoint—building up a cracking atmosphere ready for ‘Hollywood’ on home soil.
Meanwhile, Luke Littler arrived fresh off his Night 7 triumph in Cardiff, aiming to claim a remarkable fourth nightly win of the campaign.
Quarter-Final 1: Luke Littler 6-0 Stephen Bunting
With Night 8 played in table-position order, top-of-the-table Luke Littler faced bottom-placed Stephen Bunting in the evening’s opening quarter-final.
‘The Nuke’ raced into a 3–0 lead, though it wasn’t all smooth sailing early on. While Littler found his scoring power, his doubles were less convincing in the opening legs. Bunting had chances to snatch both the first and third legs but couldn’t capitalise.
From there, Littler stepped it up. His scoring stayed heavy, and the finishing caught fire as he rattled off clinical checkouts of 101, 96, and 110 to wrap up a dominant whitewash win. It marked the first whitewash in the Premier League for two years.
Match Stats:
Littler: 109.98 average, 5x 180s, Checkout %: 50% (6/12)
Bunting: 102.15 average, 2x 180s, Checkout %: 0% (0/4)
Bunting’s winless run extended to eight nights despite another competitive showing in the scoring department. Littler added two more points to his tally, stretching his lead at the top of the standings.
Quarter-Final 2: Rob Cross 6-2 Gerwyn Price
With just one point separating them in the table, Price sitting fourth and Cross fifth, this quarter-final was a repeat of their clash in Cardiff a week earlier, where Cross produced a devastating 170 finish to knock out Price in his home country.
This time in Newcastle, the early pattern was strikingly similar. Price missed chances to hold throw and offered little resistance on the Cross throw, falling into a quick 4–0 hole.
He got on the board with a scrappy 18-dart break in the fifth leg, where both players missed multiple darts at double. A much sharper 13-dart hold followed to cut the deficit to 4–2 and give the Welshman a glimmer of hope.
But that hope was short-lived. Cross produced the shot of the match with a brilliant 129 checkout, treble 19 followed by two double 18s, to move one away. A clinical 13-darter in the eighth sealed a commanding 6–2 win for ‘Voltage.’
Match Stats:
Cross: 100.87 average, 2x 180s, Checkout %: 40% (6/15)
Price: 86.17 average, 1x 180, Checkout %: 22.22% (2/9)
Cross had now won six of his eight quarter-finals this campaign, drawing level on points with Price and scoring back-to-back wins over a direct play-off rival. For the second week running, Price turned in a flat display and will look to bounce back on Night 9.
Quarter-Final 3: Luke Humphries 6-3 Chris Dobey
Following a spine-tingling ‘Local Hero’ walk-on, the action was underway as second-placed Humphries faced seventh-placed Dobey.
Humphries took the opening two legs to lead 2–0 comfortably, with Dobey offering little threat early on. A 15-darter and 112 checkout got Dobey on the board, and this sparked a run of four consecutive breaks of throw, leaving Humphries 4–2 ahead after six legs. Dobey missed key darts to hold, which ultimately cost him the chance to build momentum.
A solid 15-dart hold moved Humphries to within one leg of victory at 5–2. Dobey responded with a superb 11-darter to stay alive, but the Geordie star left himself too much to do as Humphries wrapped it up with a 13-dart hold for a 6–3 win.
Match Stats:
Humphries: 92.93 average, 1x 180, Checkout %: 40% (6/15)
Dobey: 93.60 average, 2x 180s, Checkout %: 33.33% (3/9)
Humphries picked up his first quarter-final win in three Premier League nights, while Dobey couldn’t find his rhythm in front of a passionate home crowd and stayed seventh in the table.
Quarter-Final 4: Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
The final quarter-final saw third-placed Michael van Gerwen take on sixth-placed Nathan Aspinall. Van Gerwen entered the tie buoyant after reaching his first final of the campaign last week, while Aspinall was under pressure following two straight quarter-final exits that saw him lose ground in the race for the play-offs.
Aspinall clung to MvG’s coattails early on as the match sat level at 2–2. The Dutchman missed chances to establish a 3–1 cushion, and those missed opportunities allowed Aspinall to stay in touch.
Van Gerwen soon began to find his range as Aspinall faltered on the outer ring, and he opened up a 4–2 lead after six legs. Aspinall responded with a 16-dart hold followed by a 14-dart break to level at 4–4.
In the ninth leg, ‘The Asp’ produced a moment of magic with a 130 checkout to lead 5–4, roaring in celebration. He missed one match dart at the bull for a 6–4 win, allowing Van Gerwen to force a decider with a clutch double 6 finish.
The final leg lived up to the occasion, with both players firing in a 180. But it was Aspinall who sealed a thrilling win, landing double 16 for a 13-darter and a 6–5 victory.
Match Stats:
Aspinall: 97.09 average, 3x 180s, Checkout %: 42.86% (6/14)
MvG: 96.04 average, 4x 180s, Checkout %: 35.71% (5/14)
Aspinall’s win over MvG cut the gap to just three points from fourth place. It marked a rare quarter-final exit for Van Gerwen, who had won six of his previous seven openers in this year’s campaign.
Semi-Final 1: Luke Littler 6-3 Rob Cross
In a repeat of last week's semi-final, Luke Littler was aiming to reach a fifth consecutive final in the campaign, while Rob Cross was still chasing his first, currently sat in fifth place in the standings.
‘The Nuke’ surged into a 3–0 lead early on, though Cross missed chances in the opening two legs to steal them. From there, each of the next five legs went with throw, with Cross holding comfortably and Littler only managing one dart at double to break. However, Littler was equally dominant on his own throw, giving Cross no opportunities to threaten.
With Littler leading 5–3 after that run of holds, he completed the win by securing the sixth consecutive hold of throw. The reigning World Champion narrowly missed a 170 checkout to seal it but returned to tidy up 25 in two darts for a 6–3 victory.
Match Stats:
Littler: 97.51 average, 4x 180s, Checkout %: 40% (6/15)
Cross: 94.98 average, 2x 180s, Checkout %: 37.5% (3/8)
Cross’s continued consistency in quarter-finals saw him reach six wins out of eight, pulling level on points with fourth place. Littler, meanwhile, extended his lead at the top of the table with another trip to the final.
Semi-Final 2: Luke Humphries 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Luke Humphries was searching for his first final since his Night 4 triumph in Exeter, while Nathan Aspinall looked to reach a third final of the campaign and close the gap on his play-off rivals.
Missed doubles were the story of the opening stages as Humphries edged into a 2–1 lead. Aspinall responded in style with a magnificent 142 checkout to level at 2–2. He followed up with a brilliant 11-darter to hold, then broke with a 14-darter to win his third leg on the spin and move 4–2 ahead.
Humphries hit back with a 14-dart break of his own, then followed it up with a 13-darter to level at 4–4. ‘Cool Hand’ made a statement in the ninth leg, setting up 40 with a superb 170 and pinning tops for a 14-darter to lead 5–4 with three straight legs of his own.
Under pressure, Aspinall held his nerve with a superb 12-dart break, finishing 76 while Humphries was sat on 32 for the match. In a dramatic deciding leg, Humphries produced another brilliant setup with a 177 to leave double 6 and nailed it first dart for a 13-dart break and a thrilling 6–5 win.
Match Stats:
Humphries: 106.73 average, 2x 180s, Checkout %: 42.86% (6/14)
Aspinall: 101.18 average, 5x 180s, Checkout %: 45.45% (5/11)
Humphries returned to the final for the first time since Night 4, securing a much-needed run to stay in touch with the top four. Aspinall bowed out at the semi-final stage for the second time, falling just short of reaching a third final in eight nights.
🏆 The Final: Luke Littler 6-1 Luke Humphries
The Night 8 final saw a showdown between the top two in the standings. Littler, with a six-point lead going into the final, had already won two of his three previous encounters with ‘Cool Hand’ this campaign.
Littler raced into a 4–0 lead with relative ease. Humphries was restricted to just one dart at the bull in legs 1 and 3, both of which he missed, and two darts at double in the fourth leg, which he also failed to convert. Littler capitalized on these missed opportunities, building a commanding 4–0 advantage.
In leg five, it was Littler's turn to miss, squandering three darts at double. Humphries took his chance, pinning double 4 to claim his first leg and reduce the deficit to 4–1. However, the comeback was short-lived as Humphries missed two more darts at double, and Littler punished him, hitting double top to extend his lead to 5–1.
Littler sealed the win with a 15-darter in the final leg, which included the highest checkout of the match, a clinical 106, securing a stunning 6–1 victory over the World Number 1.
Match Stats:
Littler: 93.62 average, 1x 180, Checkout %: 40% (6/15)
Humphries: 93.31 average, 3x 180s, Checkout %: 10% (1/10)
Humphries’ doubling woes played a significant role in Littler's fourth win in eight weeks. Despite a slightly below-par performance by his usual high standards, Littler took full advantage of the chances that came his way, completing a dominant 6–1 victory and securing his third win in four meetings over Humphries.
Updated Premier League Table After Night 8
After Night 8, Littler extended his lead at the top to 8 points, courtesy of his fourth night win. Humphries, with his fourth final appearance, built a 5-point cushion over 3rd-placed Michael van Gerwen.
Despite quarter-final exits to direct play-off rivals Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen, both remained in contention, with Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall closing in on the top four spots.
Chris Dobey, underwhelming in front of his home crowd, remained in 7th following his 6th quarter-final exit in 8 nights. Stephen Bunting continued to struggle, remaining winless at the bottom with 0 points.
Position | Name | Points |
1st | Luke Littler | 26 |
2nd | Luke Humphries | 18 |
3rd | Michael van Gerwen | 13 |
4th | Gerwyn Price | 12 |
5th | Rob Cross | 12 |
6th | Nathan Aspinall | 10 |
7th | Chris Dobey | 5 |
8th | Stephen Bunting | 0 |
Night Nine Fixtures—Thursday, 3rd April
Uber Arena, Berlin
Quarter-Finals:
Nathan Aspinall v Stephen Bunting
Luke Humphries v Rob Cross
Chris Dobey v Luke Littler
Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen
Final Thoughts
While Luke Littler delivered a stunning performance in the quarter-finals to whitewash Stephen Bunting 6-0 with a 109.98 average, he wasn't at his best in the semi-finals and final. Nonetheless, he managed to secure the crucial 5 points and a £10,000 winner's bonus, proving his ability to grind out victories even when not at his peak.
For Luke Humphries, making his first final since Night 4 was a much-needed boost, helping to solidify his position in 2nd place for now. Meanwhile, the chasing pack, led by Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross, continues to close in on Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen, who currently hold the final two play-off spots.
Upcoming Tournaments:
Comments