Luke Littler in a bizarre condition as he sails past opponent during Nordic Darts Masters after slow start
Luke Littler Overcomes Slow Start to Crush Viktor Tingstrom at Nordic Darts Masters 2025
Luke Littler, the 18-year-old PDC World Champion, battled through an early scare to secure a commanding 6-2 victory over Swedish debutant Viktor Tingstrom in the first round of the 2025 Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen on June 6, advancing to the quarter-finals. Despite a sluggish start, Littler’s resilience and firepower propelled him to the win, setting up a clash with Nathan Aspinall on Saturday, as reported by Daily Star and confirmed by @OfficialPDC on X.[](https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/darts/breaking-luke-littler-nordic-darts-35352215)[](https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/1931081799158886627)
The best-of-11-legs match saw Tingstrom, ranked No. 147, stun Littler by taking the opening leg with a 76 checkout and later surging to a 3-2 lead after breaking Littler’s throw, capitalizing on the teenager’s uncharacteristically low 92.7 average in the first five legs, per PDC.tv. Social media reflected fan concern, with @DartsNews02 on X noting, “Littler completely off his game in the first 5 legs,” and another fan adding, “Don’t think I’ve ever seen Luke Littler play this poor.”[](https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/darts/breaking-luke-littler-nordic-darts-35352215)[](https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/1931079061687734382)
However, Littler found his rhythm, producing an 11-dart leg to level at 3-3, followed by a 12-dart leg featuring a T20-T20-D12 combination to take the lead, per Sky Sports. He then reeled off four consecutive legs, including a 124 checkout (T20, T14, D11) and a T3 finish, to seal the match with a 102.3 average and four 180s, per Flashscore.com. “I had to dig deep, but once I settled, I felt unstoppable,” Littler told ITV4, eyeing the £30,000 top prize.
Tingstrom, despite a valiant effort with a mid-80s average, couldn’t match Littler’s late surge, struggling with a 25% checkout rate, per Sofascore.com. Littler’s recovery from a slow start reinforces his status as the 13/8 favorite to claim his third World Series title, with Luke Humphries (7/2) as his closest challenger, per Daily Mail.
