Luke Littler has won almost everything in the sport at the age of 19. However, the European Championship has remained an elusive one for him. The world number one secured only his second win in this tournament after taking down William O’Connor 6-3, averaging 105.05 in the process.

‘The Nuke’ began with an 11-dart hold, sending a statement towards his Irish opponent. He was not totally clinical on the outer ring, but his scoring offered him numerous chances and soon enough, he was 3-0 ahead.

A 107 finish got O’Connor on the board, but a brace of legs later, Littler was within one of the second round. ‘The Magpie’ added another ton+ checkout in the form of the 105, which happened to be a break. The comeback continued as he closed the gap to two legs, but Littler had too much firepower. He booked his spot in Saturday’s action, with the Dortmund hoodoo threatened to be broken.

"Yeah, very happy," he began when speaking to the media, including DartsNews. "A decent performance. I felt like I started very well, just as I wanted to, and I'm glad to get another win here. I haven't got the best record here, but, yeah, I've started off well.

Change of throw and grip

Littler admitted to having been on the board coming up to this tournament. His last match came in the first round of the World Grand Prix, losing to Luke Woodhouse. He had some time to tinker with his game.

"I think I'm more focused because of the amount of time I've had off," he commented. "I mean, I haven't been doing too much, but I've obviously been practising. People are going to mention my throw because I've had that much time off. When I was going to practise, I was just thinking, 'It's just boring.' So I've changed things up and changed my grip on the dart on stage. But, yeah, it's worked out tonight."

There was a spare on stage that he could have used as well, but overall he was comfortable, and that showed with the performance.

"I'm using my new blue flights as well, whereas throughout pretty much my whole career, I've always used the black ones. So, yeah, it's a bit different, but that's because I've had weeks and weeks off to try things. It's worked out. I did take a spare set of black ones on stage, just in case I got into trouble tonight. But, yeah, I'm happy with the win."

While Littler has been known to adjust and experiment, even on stage at times, the process was not totally straightforward. "I wouldn't say it's easy. I think it's just what I said: I've had so much time off. I've had loads of weeks to prepare for this, so I can go to the practice board at home and just change things around. I hit a nine-darter the other night on DartCounter as well, so I thought, 'Yeah, I think I'll stay with this until something goes wrong.' But, yeah, it's all going well so far."

However, it was all about competing on the big stage, and he was ready for it. "I feel refreshed more than anything. The trip back was a bit of a killer because I got up and had my hair done. By the time I got home, it was about five o'clock. I was thinking, "I've got to go back to the airport again, go through security and everything. When we got back to the hotel, it was half past twelve or one in the morning, so it was straight to bed. I think one of the main things I've got to get used to again is the flying. As long as I come here and win, I'll be happy. Tonight is one step towards the trophy, hopefully."

Humphries withdrawal and Aspinall clash

The big news ahead of the event was the absence of Luke Humphries. The former world champion, who also has never won this tournament, withdrew due to illness. "I saw it when the draw came out, and I think that top half of the draw is pretty tough. So I'm kind of glad I didn't play many European Tours. It keeps me down at the bottom, out of the way," Littler joked.

Nevertheless, a tough draw awaits him in the form of Nathan Aspinall. "But then I'll meet Nathan again tomorrow. I hope Luke's fine, obviously.

"All eyes will probably go on me now that Humphries is out. He's probably been playing the better darts because he's played more tournaments than me. But I've just got to take it game by game. Obviously, it's the last one missing, so I can't put too much pressure on myself. I'm just happy to get back on stage and do my job."

Littler has won their last five meetings, including the final of the Players Championship Finals in 2025. 'The Asp' is playing at a high level, and dazzled in a brilliant 6-3 win over Cristo Reyes. Nevertheless, his poor form against the two-time world champion makes Littler believe he is in a good place.

"I think Nathan's more sick of meeting me than I am of him," he said. "I saw a funny meme about it the other day when the draw came out. But, yeah, that's just what happens.

"Obviously, I know Nathan hasn't played many European Tours. I haven't played many either, but we've both picked up a few wins. I think it just makes us both better. I know he always wants to beat me, and obviously I always want to beat him. Hopefully, it's another good game tomorrow."

Luke Littler is in the hunt for a maiden European Championship title

Welcoming change in crowd reception

His form as of late has been somewhat concerning. Once on for the clean sweep, those lofty ambitions came crashing down at the World Series of Darts Finals and World Grand Prix. However, he is ready to respond to these poor results and get back to winning ways.

"Obviously, the World Series was tough. Then the Grand Prix was a bit of a killer for me because anyone can win, and Luke played very well against me. The World Youth Championship was, I mean, I looked at it as just a day out, seeing old friends I used to play for England with and who I used to play against in the WDF.

"As soon as we got to the semi-finals against Cam Crabtree, I thought, 'Right, it's been eight hours of playing darts. Let's try and win.' I got beaten, but, yeah, I've had even more time off to prepare. I've come back firing tonight, but I've got to back it up tomorrow as well."

A big talking point in those defeats came around the reaction he got on the oche, mostly hostile and negative, specifically in Amsterdam, which led to a lot of discourse. Tonight was different.

"Tonight, I think it was very good. There were a few moments here and there, but, yeah, I've said in the past that you just have to ignore it. Especially because this is the one I really want to win. I obviously want to complete all the majors, so I'm telling myself on stage to ignore it and block it out. I've got to be focused in every game because, if I'm not focused, I'll probably lose. Then next year, I'll have to qualify for the European Tour again and come back here. So, yeah, I'm more focused than ever on this tournament."

Meeting Noel Gallagher 

Before the event, Littler had the time to see Oasis member Noel Gallagher at a boxing event. He reminisced on that meeting.

"Yeah, the boxing was good. Again, it was another relaxed bit of time off. Enjoy it while I can," he said. "Noel said something about number one, and I said, "You had to get that in there, didn't you?" He started laughing. I went, 'No!' He was like, 'You?' I was like, 'Yeah, I'm still number one, Noel!' I thought he was talking about Manchester City, but he was talking about me, so fair play to him."