Luke Littler: ‘The Nuke’ wins first World Collection title of 2025 and fourth of profession with victory at Australian Darts Masters

Luke Littler clinched the fourth World Collection title of his profession and first of the season with victory on the Australian Darts Masters.

The 18-year-old, the reigning world and World Matchplay champion, was trounced 8-1 by Gerwyn Value in final 12 months’s remaining in Wollongong.

However he went one higher this time round, beating World Collection debutant Mike De Decker 8-4 to take the title after wins over house favorite Damon Heta and high seed Stephen Bunting within the quarter-finals and semis respectively on Saturday.

Littler had beforehand gained World Collection occasions in Bahrain, Poland and the Netherlands in 2024 and can now look so as to add one other to his CV in Auckland, New Zealand subsequent weekend forward of the event finals in Amsterdam in September.

Littler thew 5 180s and 12 140s within the remaining, with a highest checkout of 143 and a median of 99.10.

Littler rebounds from sluggish Friday in Wollongong

‘The Nuke’ survived a last-leg shoot-out towards New Zealand’s Haupai Puha within the final 16 on day one, scraping by with a median of 91.80.

However he was a lot improved the next day, with highlights together with a 170 throughout a 7-4 win over Bunting – a outcome that ended his opponent’s hopes of a 3rd World Collection trophy of 2025 after triumphs in Bahrain in January and Denmark in June.

Littler had bookended his 6-3 victory over Heta with 11-dart finishes as he recorded a sixth consecutive win towards the Australian.

An in poor health world No 1 Luke Humphries had been whitewashed 6-0 by De Decker within the final eight, with the Belgian taking out a 167 within the opening leg.

Value’s hopes of efficiently defending the title – and going back-to-back within the World Collection after victory in Poland in June – have been ended by Chris Dobey within the quarter-finals earlier than Dobey went on to lose to De Decker within the subsequent stage.

The night started with Bunting sweeping Josh Rock 6-0 – and ended with Littler holding yet one more trophy.

Australian Darts Masters – Saturday’s outcomes

Last (better of 15 legs)
Luke Littler 8-4 Mike De Decker

Semi-finals (better of 13 legs)
Luke Littler 7-4 Stephen Bunting
Chris Dobey 7-4 Mike De Decker

Quarter-finals (better of 11 legs)
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Josh Rock
Luke Littler 6-3 Damon Heta
Chris Dobey 6-4 Gerwyn Value
Luke Humphries 6-0 Mike De Decker

Australia Darts Masters trophy to be renamed after Kyle Anderson from 2026

The PDC has introduced that, from subsequent 12 months, the Australian Darts Masters silverware might be named the Kyle Anderson Trophy, in reminiscence of the previous Australian participant.

Anderson – who handed away in August 2021 on the age of 33 – turned the primary Australian to win a World Collection event, on the Auckland Darts Masters in 2017, and triumphed at a Gamers Championship occasion the identical 12 months.

Additionally in 2017, he hit a nine-dart end throughout a run to the semi-finals of the European Championship.

PDC chief govt Matt Porter mentioned: “Kyle was a trailblazer for what we would like the World Collection to be; a platform for home gamers to compete on the massive stage and ultimately progress to turn into PDC professionals.

“His former schoolmate Damon Heta has since adopted that very same path and it is becoming that future winners of the Australian Darts Masters will carry the Kyle Anderson Trophy.

“We’ll work with Kyle’s household to create an applicable design and sit up for unveiling the trophy subsequent 12 months.”

Reside darts is again on Sky Sports activities from October 6-12 because the BoyleSports World Grand Prix is held in Leicester.