Latest news with #WinterGardens
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luke Littler requires stirring comeback to beat Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Littler dug himself out of a massive hole to stay alive in the World Matchplay with a tense 13-11 win over Jermaine Wattimena. Littler fell 4-0 and 7-2 behind but charged back into an 8-7 lead, the match then going to a tiebreaker before the teenager made it into the quarter-finals. Littler looked in ominous form with his crushing 10-2 win over Ryan Searle on Sunday but the tables were turned early on here. Wattimena meant business and stormed into a 4-0 lead that left heads spinning in the Winter Gardens. Littler took the next two but it was only a temporary reprieve as Wattimena rediscovered his rhythm, making it 7-2 with back-to-back 180s part of an 11-darter. When Littler pulled back the next leg he gestured to the crowd, pointing to the world champion's star on his shirt as he indicated he was not ready to go home yet. And he then set about showing it as he won six legs on the spin, the pressure clearly getting to Wattimena as his earlier poise vanished. The Dutchman recovered to level at 8-8, then punished a Littler miss for 9-9 as the contest went the distance. As it went to extra legs both players were missing their throws before Littler got the D10 he needed to end the fight. 'When I pointed to the star on my shirt, I'm a world champion for a reason, I find these gears when I need it,' Littler said on Sky Sports. 'I've not felt pressure like that since the first round of the world championship. I was a bit nervous and it's on to my third game here, I've won two of them. 'I want to get back on stage and right now I can't wait to be in the quarter-final.' Earlier Gerwyn Price stormed through with an 11-3 rout of Chris Dobey. Price left Dobey with little chance, averaging 108.73 and hitting eight 180s in a performance highlighted by a 146 finish that put him 3-0 up. 'It was fantastic,' the Welshman said. 'The middle part of the game I felt like I couldn't miss. I put Chris under a lot of pressure. I think he still played decent in patches. 'I think early on we were both flying and I was just pipping him on a couple of legs, probably disheartened him a little bit. It's a good game for me.' Former UK champion Andrew Gilding made it through to the last eight with an 11-5 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The Irish Sun
34 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Luke Littler stuns World Matchplay Darts with one of his greatest ever comebacks against Jermaine Wattimena
LUKE LITTLER completed one of his finest EVER comebacks to book his place in the World Matchplay Darts quarter-finals. The teen sensation came back from 7-2 behind to shoot down Jermaine 'Machine Gun' Wattimena 13-11 in a tie-break classic. Advertisement 3 Littler stunned the Blackpool crowd to beat Wattimena Credit: Getty 3 Winter Gardens. It went all the way to a nail-biting tie-break and Littler said: 'It just didn't go to plan. I bust the 127 then I missed my doubles. 'I was always three or four legs behind. But after the second break I say to myself 'I'm on the stage until the end, just work hard'. World Matchplay Darts 2025 BLACKPOOL will be the home of darts for the next week as the World Matchplay returns! There has already been huge drama in round one of the tournament with SIX of the 16 seeded players out. A new champions is now also guaranteed after Luke Humphries crashed out in his tournament opener against Gian van Veen. There will be darts action every night this week ahead of the big final on Sunday! LIVE - Follow all the action from the World Matchplay 2025 INFO Full schedule and results Prize money LATEST NEWS 'When I won I pointed to the star on my shirt, I'm a world champion for a reason. I find these gears when I need it. Advertisement READ MORE ON DARTS 'I'll be honest I've not felt pressure like that since the first round of the World Championship against Littler made an awful start, averaging just 80 early on as he lost the opening FOUR legs. In contrast But The Nuke finally got his first leg on the board with a stunning 100 finish and two double tops. Littler then halved the deficit with double four but Wattimena then extended his lead to 7-2 to leave the teen sensation on the ropes. At this point Littler had missed TEN efforts on doubles. Advertisement Most read in Darts The Nuke then hit a vital double 16 to narrow the gap before the second break. He gestured to the fans: 'I'm still here'. A clinical 107, 70, tops and double 10 followed for Littler to make it 8-7 and he let out a huge scream. Luke Littler reveals gruelling new training regime that saw him almost break darts record But Wattimena wasn't finished and he showed great spirit to stay with Littler to make it 9-9. The Nuke then missed one match dart before going to a tie-break. He then blew three more chances to win it but finally wrapped it up with double 10. Advertisement Gerwyn Price romped into the quarters with a stunning 11-3 win over Chris Dobey. It was all one-way traffic and no dramas for the Welshman after his stage aggro with Daryl Gurney earlier in the week. 3 Littler and Wattimena enjoy a classy moment together after their epic clash Credit: SKY SPORTS Price said: 'I think I'm played well in the middle part of the game. Advertisement 'The crowd were behind me which I didn't expect today after Monday. 'It was fantastic, the middle part of the game I felt I couldn't miss. I put Chris under a lot of pressure. I think he played decent in patches. 'I want to let my emotions go sometimes. It was a tough game.'
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Luke Littler requires stirring comeback to beat Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Littler dug himself out of a massive hole to stay alive in the World Matchplay with a tense 13-11 win over Jermaine Wattimena. Littler fell 4-0 and 7-2 behind but charged back into an 8-7 lead, the match then going to a tiebreaker before the teenager made it into the quarter-finals. Littler looked in ominous form with his crushing 10-2 win over Ryan Searle on Sunday but the tables were turned early on here. Wattimena meant business and stormed into a 4-0 lead that left heads spinning in the Winter Gardens. Littler took the next two but it was only a temporary reprieve as Wattimena rediscovered his rhythm, making it 7-2 with back-to-back 180s part of an 11-darter. When Littler pulled back the next leg he gestured to the crowd, pointing to the world champion's star on his shirt as he indicated he was not ready to go home yet. And he then set about showing it as he won six legs on the spin, the pressure clearly getting to Wattimena as his earlier poise vanished. The Dutchman recovered to level at 8-8, then punished a Littler miss for 9-9 as the contest went the distance. As it went to extra legs both players were missing their throws before Littler got the D10 he needed to end the fight. 'When I pointed to the star on my shirt, I'm a world champion for a reason, I find these gears when I need it,' Littler said on Sky Sports. 'I've not felt pressure like that since the first round of the world championship. I was a bit nervous and it's on to my third game here, I've won two of them. 'I want to get back on stage and right now I can't wait to be in the quarter-final.' Earlier Gerwyn Price stormed through with an 11-3 rout of Chris Dobey. Price left Dobey with little chance, averaging 108.73 and hitting eight 180s in a performance highlighted by a 146 finish that put him 3-0 up. 'It was fantastic,' the Welshman said. 'The middle part of the game I felt like I couldn't miss. I put Chris under a lot of pressure. I think he still played decent in patches. 'I think early on we were both flying and I was just pipping him on a couple of legs, probably disheartened him a little bit. It's a good game for me.' Former UK champion Andrew Gilding made it through to the last eight with an 11-5 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Gerwyn Price swerves Blackpool bust-up backlash as he storms through to Betfred World Matchplay quarter finals
The Welsh star was delighted to get the backing of the Winter Gardens crowd after his fiery battle two days earlier Chuffed Gerwyn Price was thrilled to avoid a Blackpool backlash as he stormed into the last-eight of the Betfred World Matchplay. The Welsh star returned to the Winter Gardens stage for the first time after his bust-up clash with Daryl Gurney on Monday night. Price was back to tackle Chris Dobey and instantly into the groove as he smashed the Geordie by an 11-3 scoreline. The Iceman was given big backing by the Blackpool sell-out and Price was delighted about it as he said: 'I think I played pretty well through the middle part of that game. 'Testament to the crowd, you know, they were behind me, which I didn't expect today after Monday. But yeah, it was fantastic. 'That's what I look foreard to now every game is the crowd being behind me. It's nice and then I go and perform like that. I expected a few little boos, which I got, but I expected a little more and it was nice, it was good.' 'The middle part of the game felt like I couldn't miss. I put Chris under a lot of pressure. I think he still played pretty decent in patches. I think early on we both were flying, but I was just pipping him on a couple of legs and probably disheartened him a little bit. It's a good game for me.' Price kept emotions in check to power through the line and added: 'It's definitely tough. I mean, I want to let my emotions go sometimes, but whether I'm 4-1 up or 8-2 up, which I was in that game, I can still lose. I've lost games where I've been 5-1 up, first to six. "I lost to Danny Norbert in the European Championships a couple of years ago, where I was a lot of legs up. So I concentrated right until the end there. It was a tough game.' Price's success maintains his stunning recent run of form and, asked where the motivation lies, he smiled: 'Just the money! And the ranking points, because I dropped down quite a bit. "And yeah, just getting some money on my rankings more than anything. It's one of the trophies I haven't won, which I really want to win. 'I lost in a final of this, I think 2022. So yeah, it's a tournament I really want to win.' Price isn't interested in upcoming opponents as he added: 'No, no, honestly, it doesn't matter. I go up every single time, play the board. I know it's easy to say that, but I do. I go up, I play the board. "If my game's good enough, I'll win. If it's not, I'll go home. today, it was more than good enough. I put Chris under a lot of pressure, but I felt like I was good.' You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
World Matchplay Darts 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Luke Littler ON NOW, Van Gerwen NEXT after Price flies through
THE World Matchplay has arrived in Blackpool for nine thrilling nights of darts at the iconic Winter Gardens - and Luke Littler is back to the oche NOW! World champion Littler returns to action in a tough test against Dutch cult hero Jermaine Wattimena. Gerwyn Price also romped into the quarters with a demolition job on Chris Dobey, where he averaged 108.73. Michael van Gerwen ends the day five bill in a huge encounter with Josh Rock. Follow our live blog below...
