Luke Littler has been warned to "never pause unless you absolutely have to" after he suffered a 6-5 defeat to Michael van Gerwen on night two of Premier League Darts.
The 17-year-old secured wins over Rob Cross and Luke Humphries on his way to a first Premier League final on Thursday evening.
But after a solid showing against seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen in the final, Littler narrowly missed out after being beaten in a dramatic last-leg decider.
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The Runcorn-born thrower had two darts to win his first ever Premier League after hitting treble 20 but after an uncharacteristic nine-second pause, he missed double 10.
Van Gerwen pounced on the mistake and secured victory on Night Two in Berlin.
During the final moments of Thursday's final, Sky Sports commentator and three-time world champion John Part commented on Littler's lengthy pause on double 10.
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He said: "Well I don't know if the big pause really helped [Littler] there."
In addition to Part's on-air comment, Wayne Mardle, who also commentates for Sky Sports, gave the teenager some advice as he continues to impress against the world's best.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: "Never pause, unless you absolutely have to."
Littler's appearance at this year's Premier League Darts has brought plenty of discussion from fans and players.
James Wade, who is currently ranked 19 in the PDC Order Of Merit, believes it's all come too soon for Littler.
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"A huge tournament in the limelight should have been followed by a year of keeping his head down, picking up ranking points, learning about his game, and gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with," he told Daily Star.
"But Littler has already become the PDC’s biggest asset and they want to parade him around the country - and in the case of the World Series, the globe - while they have him."
Wade added: "I will caveat by saying that he might revel in it, lap it up and finish top of the top four – but ultimately that will come at a cost further down the line."
Featured Image Credit: PDC Darts - Getty ImagesTopics: Darts, Luke Littler
