after losing in the German dart
championship as.Luke Littler had an emotional moment on stage after losing the German Darts Championship final to Peter Wright. The 17-year-old ended up on the wrong side of an 8-5 defeat, having led 5-2 at one point before Wright won six consecutive legs.
After the match, Littler broke down as he sent a poignant message to one of his childhood friends, Ellis, who recently lost his father. He congratulated Wright on his victory before leaving the stage in tears, saying: “Fair play to Peter, he’s played well all weekend and so have I.
“I’ve got to take it on the chin. I have got to give a massive shout out to my friend Ellis. He lost his dad I’ve known him since I was three or four.”
Littler went on to explain his thoughts on Instagram, sharing a photo of him and his friend alongside the caption: “Not looking for sympathy or anything, I was just trying to say how my best mate has lost his dad at such a young age.
“I’ve known Ellis since we were both three, four and it’s been on my mind all week. [He’s] the strongest lad I know and I just couldn’t get the job done as I would [have] liked.”
Littler secured wins over Ryan Searle, Damon Heta and Daryl Gurney before coming up against Wright in the final. He made a strong start to the match, rattling off the first three legs before winning two of the next four to move into a 5-2 lead.
It was at that point Wright burst into life, turning on the style to win five legs on the bounce and claim an impressive 8-5 victory.
Reflecting on his triumph, Wright said: “I just kept believing in myself. Luke is a fantastic darts player and he was blowing me off the board with 180s, but I thought if I could keep with him, I might get back into it.