Latest news with #AndrewGilding
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Luke Littler plants kiss on girlfriend before dramatic World Matchplay Darts quarter-final win
Luke Littler was spotted planting a kiss on his girlfriend prior to his World Matchplay Darts quarter-final clash with Andrew Gilding on Friday. After dispatching both Ryan Searle and Jermaine Wattimena in previous rounds, the 18-year-old battled former UK Open winner Gilding for a place in the last four. As Pitbull's Greenlight played out across the speakers at Blackpool 's Winter Gardens, Littler made his way to the oche, but not before taking a momentary diversion that set social media alight. Before getting the action underway, Littler walked over to his girlfriend, Faith Miller, and planted a kiss on the 19-year-old. The moment ultimately proved to be something of a good luck charm for Littler, who held off a late surge from Gilding to secure the 16-14 win and reach the World Matchplay semi-finals for the first time. In doing so, The Nuke set a new Matchplay record by hitting 18 maximums to set up a semi-final showdown with World No 17 Josh Rock. He said: 'That last leg I just had to stay focused and get over the line. 'He won a few on the bounce when I was sat on 15 legs but I just had to do a professional job in the end. 'I didn't really panic. Andrew started to win a few legs, but that last leg against the darts as well, I just had to get over the line. 'Andrews does what he does. He never goes out of rhythm. It's the same throw by throw and try and match him.' Littler and Miller have been together for several months. The pair were first pictured together in May when Littler shared a photo of them together to his 1.9million followers on Instagram. Millar comes from Wigan, just 15 miles from Luke's home in Warrington, Cheshire. Littler previously dated beauty consultant Eloise Milburn, who watched on at the 2024 World Darts Championship as an unknown Littler became an instant sensation by reaching the final. However, Littler reportedly ended the relationship in July of last year after his hectic schedule made it difficult for the pair to spend time together.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Luke Littler finishes with a flourish to reach World Matchplay semi-finals
Luke Littler produced an impressive 11-dart leg to seal a 16-14 victory over Andrew Gilding in their Betfred World Matchplay quarter-final. The world champion never went behind and produced a 103.91 average to set up a semi-final against Josh Rock at Blackpool. Littler had a five-leg advantage at one point in the contest, during which he produced 18 maximums. However, Gilding set up a tense finish – with a 160 finish the highlight of a three-leg streak by the former UK Open champion. Rock managed a 104.02 average in his 16-11 win over Gerwyn Price, the fourth quarter-final to be played at the Winter Gardens. Saturday's other best-of-33 leg semi-final sees James Wade face Jonny Clayton.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Littler 'finds rhythm' to set up Rock semi-final
World champion Luke Littler survived a fightback from Andrew Gilding to set up a World Matchplay semi-final against Josh was on course for a regulation win after opening up a sizeable lead in the quarter-final at Blackpool's Winter Gardens, first at 12-8 and again at Gilding responded by winning three consecutive legs and pegged him back to 15-14, but the 18-year-old held his nerve for a 16-14 will face Rock for a place in the final after the Northern Irishman beat 2023 runner-up Gerwyn Price 16-11. Littler averaged 103.91 to Gilding's 98.45 and threw 18 maximums en route to his first semi-final at the triple crown event. "[The crowd] got their money's worth. I think they wanted 15-all but that last leg, I just had to stay focused," he told Sky Sports."I didn't really panic. Leg by leg, Andrew started to win a few on the trot, but on the last leg, against the darts, I just had to get over the line."He played his part, it's very tough. Andrew never goes out of rhythm, he's the same throw by throw. I just had to find a rhythm to match him."Littler teased there would be "fireworks" in the fourth quarter-final and Rock delivered. Both the 24-year-old (104.02) and Price (100.21) averaged above 100, but it was Rock who seized the moment, winning three consecutive legs to open up an 11-8 lead and then extending his advantage to 13-9. Price rallied to make it 13-11, but Rock - who beat three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in round two - closed out the match in style, winning the last three legs and producing a checkout of 164 in the final one."I'm on cloud nine at the minute. What a game," Rock told on Sky Sports. "I was just like, 'Josh, you're doing nothing wrong, you're playing your own game, happy days'. The form Gerwyn's in, you know what to expect. "Littler's one of my closest friends behind the scenes. I hope we both turn up. Hopefully it will be a cracking game."The semi-finals will take place on Saturday evening with England's James Wade facing Jonny Clayton of Wales, before Littler's meeting with Rock.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Littler 'finds rhythm' to set up Rock semi-final
World champion Luke Littler survived a fightback from Andrew Gilding to set up a World Matchplay semi-final against Josh Rock. Littler was on course for a regulation win after opening up a sizeable lead in the quarter-final at Blackpool's Winter Gardens, first at 12-8 and again at 14-9. But Gilding responded by winning three consecutive legs and pegged him back to 15-14, but the 18-year-old held his nerve for a 16-14 success. He will face Rock for a place in the final after the Northern Irishman beat 2023 runner-up Gerwyn Price 16-11. Littler averaged 103.91 to Gilding's 98.45 and threw 18 maximums en route to his first semi-final at the triple crown event. "[The crowd] got their money's worth. I think they wanted 15-all but that last leg, I just had to stay focused," he told Sky Sports. "I didn't really panic. Leg by leg, Andrew started to win a few on the trot, but on the last leg, against the darts, I just had to get over the line. "He played his part, it's very tough. Andrew never goes out of rhythm, he's the same throw by throw. I just had to find a rhythm to match him." Littler teased there would be "fireworks" in the fourth quarter-final and Rock delivered. Both the 24-year-old (104.02) and Price (100.21) averaged above 100, but it was Rock who seized the moment, winning three consecutive legs to open up an 11-8 lead and then extending his advantage to 13-9. Price rallied to make it 13-11, but Rock - who beat three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in round two - closed out the match in style, winning the last three legs and producing a checkout of 164 in the final one. "I'm on cloud nine at the minute. What a game," Rock told on Sky Sports. "I was just like, 'Josh, you're doing nothing wrong, you're playing your own game, happy days'. The form Gerwyn's in, you know what to expect. "Littler's one of my closest friends behind the scenes. I hope we both turn up. Hopefully it will be a cracking game." The semi-finals will take place on Saturday evening with England's James Wade facing Jonny Clayton of Wales, before Littler's meeting with Rock.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Luke Littler, 18, kisses girlfriend Faith, 19, during walk-on for nail-biting World Matchplay Darts quarter-final win
LUKE LITTLER planted a kiss on new girlfriend Faith as the darts star continued his quest to become the youngest ever Triple Crown holder. The world champion, 18, later beat Andrew Gilding 16-14 in the quarter-finals at Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Friday night. 2 As the packed arena roared, and the tension built for his crucial clash, the camera panned to Littler making his grand entrance. And his partner Faith Millar, 19, looked every inch the proud girlfriend. Just before stepping onto the oche, Littler leaned in and gave Faith a tender smooch right there in front of thousands of screaming fans and millions watching live on TV. It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment of affection that immediately sent social media into a frenzy, with fans cooing over the couple's cute display. And the kiss brought Littler good luck in the end, as he narrowly beat world No.28 Gilding. Gilding, 54, made it close, going within one leg of Littler, before the darts prodigy hit a perfect 11-darter to win it. Littler hit EIGHTEEEN 180s, with an average of 103 as he booked a place in the semi-final against either Gerwyn Price and Josh Rock. Littler said: "That last leg I just had to stay focused and get over the line. "He won a few on the bounce when I was sat on 15 legs but I just had to do a professional job in the end. "I didn't really panic. Andrew started to win a few legs, but that last leg against the darts as well, I just had to get over the line. Luke Littler stuns World Matchplay Darts with one of his greatest ever comebacks against Jermaine Wattimena "Andrews does what he does. He never goes out of rhythm. It's the same throw by throw and try and match him." Littler and girlfriend Faith were first pictured together in March. The 19-year-old is a beautician who met Littler in February. The couple jetted off with Littler's family to Spain last month. Littler previously dated Eloise Milburn, who cheered him on at his World Darts Championship debut in 2023. But the pair split after just 10 months in July 2024 after struggling to make time for each other. 2 The World No.2 picked up a Premier League title back in 2024 and followed it up by becoming the youngest ever world champion in January. 'The Nuke' now needs to win the iconic major at the Winter Gardens to add his name to another list of icons. Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, and most recently Luke Humphries are the only four players to have completed the prestigious feat. Taylor, 16-times world champion, is still the only player to have completed the 'Triple Crown' in a singular darting season. List of all-time Darts World Champions BELOW is a list of darts world champions by year. The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions. That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once - Barney also won four BDO titles - and none of Eric Bristow's five BDO titles are included. 1994 - Dennis Priestley 1995 - Phil Taylor 1996 - Phil Taylor (2) 1997 - Phil Taylor (3) 1998 - Phil Taylor (4) 1999 - Phil Taylor (5) 2000 - Phil Taylor (6) 2001 - Phil Taylor (7) 2002 - Phil Taylor (8) 2003 - John Part 2004 - Phil Taylor (9) 2005 - Phil Taylor (10) 2006 - Phil Taylor (11) 2007 - Raymond van Barneveld 2008 - John Part (2) 2009 - Phil Taylor (12) 2010 - Phil Taylor (13) 2011 - Adrian Lewis 2012 - Adrian Lewis (2) 2013 - Phil Taylor (14) 2014 - Michael van Gerwen 2015 - Gary Anderson 2016 - Gary Anderson (2) 2017 - Michael van Gerwen (2) 2018 - Rob Cross 2019 - Michael van Gerwen (3) 2020 - Peter Wright 2021 - Gerwyn Price 2022 - Peter Wright (2) 2023 - Michael Smith 2024 - Luke Humphries 2025 - Luke Littler Most World Titles 14 - Phil Taylor 3 - Michael van Gerwen 2 - John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright 1 - Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
