'Back with a bang': Littler denies Humphries to claim Czech Darts Open title in Prague

[p]It was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/littler-luke/0URN6Xks/"]Littler[/a]'s first appearance on the European Tour since March's Belgian Darts Open, and he wasted little time shaking off any rust.[/p][p]He opened with a 108.59 average against Niko Springer, a repeat of their World Matchplay meeting in July, before edging past Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3. [/p][p]A 6-0 whitewash of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noppert-danny/YmMfGEz0/"]Danny Noppert[/a] in the quarter-finals, in which he averaged 102.48, sent him through to a semi-final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-gerwen-michael/SU4UkKsm/"]Michael van Gerwen[/a] that he won 7-3 at 106.64, a display that featured an 11-darter, a 167 checkout on the bull and a 76 finish.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/humphries-l-n34VOAWo/littler-l-0URN6Xks/summary/stats/?mid=bcC6ZGkf"]That set up a final[/a] against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/humphries-luke/n34VOAWo/"]Humphries[/a], the man Littler had partnered to World Cup glory, and a rematch neither side had contested on the European Tour before.[/p][embed guid="906ebf3a-c9f7-4f02-9dcc-f5943d6c24ba" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2096700109169832138" social-type="twitter" /][p]It took a while to get going, until Humphries nailed checkouts of 110, 88 and 92 to move 3-2 up, and an 11-darter in the seventh leg looked to have him in control.[/p][p]Littler had other ideas, reeling off back-to-back 12-darters; the second finished with a 130 on the bull, to turn a losing position into a 7-4 lead.[/p][p]Humphries responded with a second 11-darter of the match, which hauled him back to 7-6, but with the finish line in sight, he missed two darts at double 16 that would have forced a decider.[/p][p]Littler made him pay, finding double 10 to seal it.[/p][p]Both men finished with strikingly similar numbers, Littler averaging 95.25 to Humphries' 94.81, a testament to how tight the contest had been despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise.[/p][embed guid="8d49d558-b4ee-420a-8799-5e0306a3b16e" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2096711914692751425" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"It was a good game,"[/b] Littler said afterwards.[b] "This is what the fans are in for; me and Luke are back. The two best going at it in a final once again. [/b][/p][p][b]"I'm glad I've won. It's good to be back, and I'm back with a bang. [/b][/p][p][b]"These long days are worth it, especially lifting the trophy. I think I've secured my place in Dortmund. Dortmund is the one I'm chasing."[/b][/p][p]That win also confirms his spot at next month's European Championship in Germany.[/p][p]Humphries had come close to missing the tournament altogether. The world champion revealed he had considered withdrawing on Thursday because of an injury concern, only to fight through to a fourth final in his last five European Tour outings.[/p][p]His route to Sunday included wins over Beau Greaves, whom he beat with an average just shy of 109, Andrew Gilding, William O'Connor in the quarter-finals (6-3) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/price-gerwyn/8dDDoW0B/"]Gerwyn Price[/a] in the semi-finals, a 7-4 win built on checkouts of 105, 104 and 119 before Price rallied to 5-4 and Humphries shut it down with 71 on tops. He left Prague with the £15,000 runner-up cheque.[/p][embed guid="c479528c-793a-413a-b6e6-f45f007f484c" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2096700309032587323" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"It's been a great run for me, making four out of five finals," [/b]Humphries said.[/p][p][b]"I was going to pull out on Thursday, and I made the final, so I can't be too upset with myself because I did really well. I'm happy that I've had a good run and come back to see these amazing people, the fans; they're just amazing. That's why I'll be here every year.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's my favourite Euro Tour on the calendar. They're so respectful, it's amazing. I never give up, especially in finals. [/b][/p][p][b]"I know that Luke is obviously going to throw everything at me; that 130 was a big shot. Hopefully over the next four months I push him. If he does the clean sweep, he has to do it the hard way."[/b][/p][p]Elsewhere in Prague, Price reached the last four with a 6-1 rout of Cameron Menzies before beating Hungarian Darts Trophy champion Ross Smith in the quarter-finals.[/p][p]Van Gerwen needed a comeback of his own to beat Wessel Nijman before seeing off Jonny Clayton to reach his first European Tour semi-final since March.[/p][p]Noppert produced the result of the day in the earlier rounds, hitting seven maximums as he came back from 4-0 and 5-3 down to beat Luke Woodhouse, while O'Connor needed a deciding leg to see off Josh Rock at the same stage.[/p]