Luke Littler, 16, thumps darts icon Raymond van Barneveld to keep world title dream alive

Luke Littler, 16, thumps darts icon Raymond van Barneveld to keep world title dream alive

Luke Littler booked his place in the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship after defeating world champion Raymond van Barneveld at Alexandra Palace.

Luke Littler advanced to the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship with a 4-1 win over Raymond van Barneveld.

The 16-year-old Littler produced a stunning performance against an opponent 40 years her senior on Saturday night to claim victory over the five-time world champion. The teenager wasn’t even alive when Van Barneveld won his fifth world title in January 2007.

Littler faces Brendan Dolan, who knocked out former champions Gervin Price and Gary Anderson. Should he defeat Dolan, the teenager will face either Chris Dobey or 2018 champion Rob Cross for a place in the final.

Littler was a sensation at Alexandra Palace from the start. He shot 180 on his second visit to Oche and then shot 50 to win his first match. He then won the opening set 3–1 and briefly took a 2–0 lead, surprising Van Barneveld. The former champion threw everything at Littler in the third set and broke serve but the Runcorn boy made it 3-0. Van Barneveld eventually won the fourth set but was only 3-2 up and couldn’t help but smile after slowing Littler down. Both players averaged over 100. The flurry of darts continued after a short break as Littler fought back in the fifth set. He resisted the temptation to control 170 in the final game and played hard, holding on to throws to get over the line.

James

Not again 😭 in golf community as famous golf players were caught and being sentence to….   recent years, the global pandemic has changed a lot of things, and has me reflecting,” she said.  “It is time to slow down a little, focus more on my personal growth, and spend some time with my family.”  Feng told AFP in Tokyo it had been an honour to represent her country, for potentially the last time.  “We’re representing our own countries and we’re not playing for prize money, we’re playing for honour,” she said at Kasumigaseki Country Club, where she could not repeat her medal heroics of five years earlier, finishing eighth.  “Out of all my achievements, I would say a medal at the Olympics is very special,” said Feng, whose only major win came at the 2012 US PGA Championship.  “Even though I’ve been a major winner, think about it, we have five majors every year, in four years we have 20 chances to win a major.  ‘  “So I would say it’s harder, much harder, to get a medal at the Olympics. It was the most memorable moment of my career.”  Brought up in China’s southern Guangdong province, neighbouring Hong Kong, an 18-year-old Feng became the first Chinese player to earn an LPGA tour card in 2007.  The easy-going Feng went on to be the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a major and lifted 10 LPGA titles during her 14 active years on the tour.  In 2017, Feng became the only Chinese golfer to date to reach the world No 1 ranking.  During a supremely consistent career, Feng registered 18 top-10 finishes in majors, two of them in 2021 even as she was winding down her playing commitments.

Not again 😭 in golf community as famous golf players were caught and being sentence to…. recent years, the global pandemic has changed a lot of things, and has me reflecting,” she said. “It is time to slow down a little, focus more on my personal growth, and spend some time with my family.” Feng told AFP in Tokyo it had been an honour to represent her country, for potentially the last time. “We’re representing our own countries and we’re not playing for prize money, we’re playing for honour,” she said at Kasumigaseki Country Club, where she could not repeat her medal heroics of five years earlier, finishing eighth. “Out of all my achievements, I would say a medal at the Olympics is very special,” said Feng, whose only major win came at the 2012 US PGA Championship. “Even though I’ve been a major winner, think about it, we have five majors every year, in four years we have 20 chances to win a major. ‘ “So I would say it’s harder, much harder, to get a medal at the Olympics. It was the most memorable moment of my career.” Brought up in China’s southern Guangdong province, neighbouring Hong Kong, an 18-year-old Feng became the first Chinese player to earn an LPGA tour card in 2007. The easy-going Feng went on to be the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a major and lifted 10 LPGA titles during her 14 active years on the tour. In 2017, Feng became the only Chinese golfer to date to reach the world No 1 ranking. During a supremely consistent career, Feng registered 18 top-10 finishes in majors, two of them in 2021 even as she was winding down her playing commitments.

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