Luke Littler's telling reaction after 222-match record ends at New Zealand Darts Masters
Littler defeated local player Mark Cleaver in round one in Auckland but couldn't maintain one of his coveted records.
Luke Littler's reaction spoke volumes after he failed to hit a 180 in his 6-4 win over Mark Cleaver at the NZ Darts Masters.
Littler secured his passage through to the second round in Auckland but didn't have things all his own way.
The reigning world champion broke New Zealand star Cleaver's throw and went 3-0 up, but his opponent broke back twice in succession to make it 4-3.
Littler would ultimately win the final two legs of the contest to book a second-round clash against Mike De Decker in Auckland.
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The match is a repeat of last weekend's Australian Darts Masters final, which Littler won 8-4 to secure his first title in Oceania.
Significantly, Littler did not hit a maximum against Cleaver - ending a streak of 222 matches where he has scored 180 in a single visit.
Speaking after the match (via TungstenTales), the 18-year-old was informed that the record had gone - and he gave a telling response.
"Did I not hit a 180?" he exclaimed.
"I didn't even know. It didn't happen!
"Through the game I said to myself, if I go three across I'll change to my world champion darts. But I think it went to 4-3 and I was going to change anyway.
"The darts that have been thrown with the black pixels, they've won me the Matchplay, so really I should be sticking to them. But if it's not going your way, then the fans are on your back, their player's getting back into it. But at four across, I just needed to change them and get over the line."
Humphries, Price, Bunting secure PDC clean sweep
All of the other seven matches in round one were won by PDC representatives, including Stephen Bunting, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price.
Each match saw a PDC-selected player take on an Oceanian representative, which included the likes of Simon Whitlock, Haupai Puha and reigning New Zealand champion Ben Robb.
Damon Heta, meanwhile, secured a 6-1 victory over Dean Reyland, while De Decker also produced a 6-1 triumph over Australian star Gordon Mathers in Auckland.
Topics: Luke Littler, Darts, New Zealand
Ryan Smart