Belgian Darts Open: Luke Littler edges Jose de Sousa, James Wade beats Raymond van Barneveld

Planet Sport writerStaff Writer9 March 2024
Luke Littler at the Belgian Darts Open

Luke Littler at the Belgian Darts Open

Luke Littler avoided a shock exit as he claimed victory on his European Tour debut as the 17-year-old edged past Jose de Sousa in the first round of the Belgian Open in Wieze.

World Championship runner-up Littler defeated Portuguese De Sousa 6-5, having survived two match darts, to set up a round-two clash with Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski.

Littler, who averaged 101.86 and registered eight 180s, said in quotes on the PDC’s official website: “I’ve always said that I love playing in front of a massive crowd.

“I’m glad to get through. I know that my scoring is there, so I will have a good rest tonight and come here tomorrow and practise those doubles.”

Peter Wright beat Geert De Vos 6-2 to advance to a meeting with Michael van Gerwen, while Nathan Aspinall crashed out with a 6-3 loss to Richard Veenstra.

James Wade will face world number one and reigning world champion Luke Humphries after fighting back from 4-2 down to defeat Raymond van Barneveld 6-5.

Friday’s action also saw Belgian number one Dimitri van den Bergh, winner of the UK Open last weekend, beaten 6-5 by Stephen Bunting.

 

First round results:

Berry van Peer 6-3 Daniel Klose
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Lukas Wenig 6-3 Born Van Put
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 James Hurrell
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Steven Strobbe
Chris Dobey 6-3 Romeo Grbavac
Andreas Harrysson 6-1 Gian van Veen
Mike De Decker 6-5 Chris Landman
Joe Cullen 6-1 Martin Schindler
Gabriel Clemens 6-0 Jeroen Caron
Luke Littler 6-5 Jose de Sousa
Peter Wright 6-2 Geert De Vos
James Wade 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
 

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