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Luke Littler was far from his best on debut at the Dutch Darts Masters on Friday, but he still made a winning start to his campaign.
The 17-year-old defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 in Den Bosch and his girlfriend Eloise Milburn sent him a message immediately after his victory.
Littler was looking to follow up his first professional title win at the Bahrain Masters last week.
He defeated Michael van Gerwen in the final of that event after hitting a nine-darter against Nathan Aspinall.
Luke Littler’s girlfriend Eloise Milburn sent a message after his victory at the Dutch Masters
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Littler was playing the sixth game of the opening night in the Netherlands and had already seen Aspinall, Peter Wright and Michael Smith all ruled out.
The teenager was looking in great form right from the start and scored 180 in his very first innings.
But against a disappointing Van Duijvenbode he didn’t really need to shift out of second gear.
Littler averaged only 90.85, but it was enough to overcome his Dutch opponent, who failed to score 180 in the match.
He finished the game in style, hitting 150 checkouts, to secure his place in Saturday’s quarter-finals.
Milburn, watching from home in the UK, posted a message on her Instagram Story before the action began, reading: “It’s almost time! Can’t wait.”
And when her boyfriend scored another win she immediately posted a message.
Milburn wrote: “Get in there! Start the weekend off with a win. Time to make it big tomorrow night, proud of you.”
Littler will play world No. 1 Luke Humphreys in the quarter-finals after defeating Jermaine Watimena 6–0 in the first round.
Humphreys defeated Littler in the World Darts Championship final at Alexandra Palace earlier this month.
The pair are already set to meet on the opening night of the Premier League in Cardiff next week.
Littler has already introduced the mind games ahead of Thursday’s clash and insists the pressure is on the reigning world champion.
,[Humphries] Has been incredible,” Littler said. “That’s why he won a world title and that’s why he has this 20-game winning streak.
“So now he is the man to beat – and all the attention will be on him.
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Alois Milburn wishes Luke Littler all the best for the weekend after first round win
“Hopefully the World Championships won’t be the last time we meet in a major final – and if it’s me and Luke in every final, it’ll still be cool.
“But you’ve still got all those dangerous players – Michael Smith, Gezzi (Gerwyn Price) and Michael van Gerwen – and it’s going to be grueling.
“Everyone who has won a Tour Card can beat you – you win a Tour Card because you are one of the best.”
Meanwhile, Humphries warns Littler that despite reaching the top, he still has a lot of competition to dominate darts.
Humphries said: “We are in an era where no one player is dominating the game anymore.
Luke Littler not at his best as he wins at Dutch Masters
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“If Luke gets better than before it could be a possibility but he will face a lot of great players this year.
“He hasn’t faced everybody, he’s only faced six players so far. You’ve got Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall and Peter Wright.
“All these guys are tough competitors but if he keeps getting better he can definitely dominate the game but it’s up to me to get even better and not let that happen.”
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