World champion Luke Littler overcame a hostile Liverpool crowd to defeat Jonny Clayton 6-1 in the Premier League Darts night 12 final, but Clayton remains top of the overall standings, three points clear of Littler.
The 19-year-old Manchester United fan was booed throughout the night at the M&S Bank Arena, yet he kept his composure to claim his fourth nightly win of the season. Littler brushed aside Luke Humphries 6-2 in the quarter-finals and survived a tough semi-final against Michael van Gerwen to set up the final showdown with Clayton.
"Rotterdam was way louder than this tonight," Littler said of the reception. "There was a little bit [of booing], but this week was nothing compared to last week. I've just got to forget about it. I was definitely focused and wanted to win tonight, and that's what I've done."
The world champion raced into a 4-0 lead in the final as Clayton struggled on his doubles, hitting just one of six attempts. Littler averaged over 104 and boasted a 60% checkout rate to seal the win.
With the top four advancing to finals night at the O2 Arena on May 28, Clayton leads the table on 26 points, followed by Littler on 23. Gian van Veen sits fifth on 8 points, meaning Littler is effectively 15 points clear of the chasing pack.
Littler has finished top of the table for the past two seasons and is determined to do so again. "I'm very close to Jonny now and I'm going to go chasing," he said. "I want to finish top once again. If it's not to be, then it's not to be, but there are still four weeks left to play for."
Humphries in danger of missing play-offs
Defending champion Luke Humphries finds himself in sixth place and at risk of failing to qualify for the play-offs. The world number two has won just seven matches over 12 weeks and is yet to win a night this season. After 16 weeks last year, he had 21 match wins and three nightly titles.
Humphries suffered a 6-2 quarter-final defeat to Littler, despite averaging 99.39. His checkout rate of 18% proved costly compared to Littler's 46%. With four nights remaining, Humphries is five points adrift of fourth-placed Michael van Gerwen.
Premier League Darts night 12 results:
Quarter-finals:
- Gian van Veen 6-4 Gerwyn Price
- Luke Littler 6-2 Luke Humphries
- Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
- Jonny Clayton 6-5 Rob Cross
Semi-finals:
- Luke Littler 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
- Jonny Clayton 6-4 Gian van Veen
Final:
- Luke Littler 6-1 Jonny Clayton