Luke Littler beats Nathan Aspinall to win Premier League Darts night nine in Belfast

Teenager Luke Littler continued his extraordinary rise as he won his first Premier League Darts night with a 6-4 win over Nathan Aspinall in Belfast.

Littler, 17, rose to prominence when he was runner-up to Luke Humphries in the World Darts Championship on debut.

The Premier League debutant had reached the final in week two in Berlin but lost to Michael van Gerwen.

He beat Humphries, who defeated him in January’s World final, in the quarter-finals, and Van Gerwen in the semis.

The win leaves Littler second in the eight-player Premier League Darts table with the top four progressing to the play-offs on 23 May at London’s O2 Arena.

“I’m happy to win,” Littler told Sky Sports. “I’ve practised more tonight and it has paid off.

“I’ve got to enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, you won’t perform or play well.”

Since his defeat in January’s World final, Littler has won the Bahrain Masters and the Players Championship One event as he continues his rise through the sport.

His Premier League campaign has been up and down, with two quarter-final defeats in the opening eight weeks, but this win puts him on track to reach the play-offs.

His 6-5 defeat by Van Gerwen in Berlin on night two has not fazed him, with the Warrington-born teenager looking more relaxed as the weeks go by.