suffered a surprise Players Championship defeat against an experienced player who used to beat his grandad in the pub. Ian White secured a deciding-leg victory over Littler to avenge his defeat against the 18-year-old.
Littler defeated White in the third round at Alexandra Palace back in December. The Nuke recorded a 4-1 victory back then but the match was tighter than the scoreline suggests. White has often played well against the teenager and he turned on the style in Leicester to get revenge for his World Championship loss and claim a memorable 6-5 win.
The 54-year-old took advantage of Littler's inability to close out the deciding leg. With the match tied at 5-5, Littler needed 120 to win but failed to land the decisive blow. White stepped up and checked out 46.
Littler was seen nodding in approval at White's success and clearly has enormous respect for a player who is 37 years his senior. He is not the only Littler who White has experience of beating, having previously revealed that he used to play Luke's grandad Phil in the Runcorn pub league.
Speaking before their World Championship meeting, when Littler was still 17, White said: "When I first started in darts, I played against his grandad, Phil Littler, in Runcorn. I used to beat him all the time when he played for the Albion.
"I wouldn't have seen Luke in the pub - he wasn't even born then. That is why I say Luke is No.2 in Runcorn and I am No.1. We had some good banter and I saw him not that long ago, although it was a bad time - at a funeral. But when I spoke to his grandad, he said, 'Watch out, he's playing well'.
"To be honest I didn't hear a lot about Luke until two years before he started coming into the PDC. He hasn't even turned 18 yet, but let's see if he can keep it going. He's got to have a beer, he's got to be with the girls yet.
"But he is doing so well for the sport and we love it. I think it is the best thing ever. At the moment, everyone wants to get on board with the darts, the sponsors are coming in, prize money is going up - keep doing it, keep enjoying it."
