Littler Doubles Up In Gliwice

Luke Littler claimed his second World Series of Darts title of 2024 with victory at the Superbet Poland Darts Masters in Gliwice on Saturday.

Littler defeated Rob Cross 8-3 with a superb display in the final to lift his sixth PDC stage title of the year in front of over 9,000 fans at the PreZero Arena.

A winner of the Bahrain Darts Masters on his World Series debut in January, Littler has won two out of four World Series events in an unprecedented debut year – having also seen off Peter Wright and Michael Smith in Saturday’s final stages.

“I’m delighted to get the win, it’s an amazing feeling to lift trophies in front of massive crowds,” said Littler.

“I had a week off in Orlando [after the US Darts Masters] and there was a bit of rustiness at times but I’ve played well overall.

“Rob didn’t play as well as he has been doing in the final and I punished him.

“I love playing in big arenas in front of thousands of people; I didn’t expect 9,000 people in here tonight, it’s just incredible.

“It’s an amazing experience travelling the world on the World Series; I’ve loved my time in Poland.

“I want to win as much as I can; the first six months of the year have been really good and I can’t wait for the second half of the season.”

Having defied a 109.73 average from Wright in the quarter-finals and survived match darts in a semi-final thriller against Smith, Littler enjoyed a more straightforward path to victory in the final.

He averaged 101.84, including hitting a killer 164 checkout to open up a 4-1 lead, with US Darts Masters champion Cross unable to mount a comeback.

“Luke was brilliant but I didn’t do myself justice in the final,” admitted Cross, who has starred in three World Series finals in as many weeks.

“I’ve loved being back in Poland, the crowd were absolutely amazing and I’d love to come back next year.

“I’m enjoying the game more than ever, I feel very blessed to be on these big stages.”

Rob Cross in action against Stephen Bunting at the Quarter Finals of the Poland Darts Masters. Image: PDC Darts

The semi-finals saw Cross produce a dazzling display, averaging 106.68 to beat reigning champion Michael van Gerwen 7-2.

The highest average of the night came in the quarter-finals as Van Gerwen averaged 109.98 in a 6-0 whitewash of Boris Krcmar, as the Croatian saw his hopes of emulating Friday’s win over Nathan Aspinall blown away.

Smith was a narrow winner against World Champion Luke Humphries in a tight quarter-final, while Cross saw off Bunting 6-4 in the last eight.

The World Series of Darts returns on August 9-10 with the Australian Darts Masters, as Cross defends his title in the first of a double-header Down Under.

The year’s final global event will then take place on August 16-17 with the New Zealand Darts Masters in Hamilton, ahead of September’s JACKS.NL World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.