Luke Littler hit a nine-darter as he won the Belgian Open on his European Tour debut on Sunday.
The 17-year-old beat Rob Cross in Wieze in a close final 8-7 to claim the £30,000 winner's prize money. The nine-darter put him 6-5 up but Cross pushed him all the way and the teenager took victory with a 103.76 average in the final.
"I hit the nine and then lost the next two legs, so I'm just glad to get over the line," PDC World Darts Champion, Littler, said. "It's always good to be involved in a good game. We always push ourselves to the last leg."
Cross, competing in his ninth European Tour final, was full of praise for his opponent. "He really pushes on," he said. "I wanted a big display and got a big display.
“To be fair, I missed a few chances, but I've loved this crowd this weekend. This young man has got such a bright future in front of him. The nine-darter was impeccable, amazing.
“This boy's special." On his way to the title, the World Championship runner-up made 30 maximum 180s - a European Tour record.
Littler appeared to exchange words on the stage with his semi-final opponent, Ricardo Pietreczko, after the German was defeated 7-3. After the match, Pietreczko criticised Littler, writing on Instagram: "So I appreciated him a lot, that you can play such a game at such an age, but I hope the arrogance punishes him."
Littler responded on Twitter by saying: "No idea what I did wrong, no idea what he said, something then don't do it again." The teenager also had wins over Damon Heta and Jermaine Wattimena on his way to the title, while Cross made it to the final with a 7-3 victory over Wales' Gerwyn Price in his semi-final.
