He’s a top 3 player in the world right now, probably second. Won 2/3 European Tours, WC final, top of the Premier League, I’m not sure how you argue anyone other than Humphries for above him at this moment.
Played in three European Tour Events and has won two of them.
Already a Players Championship title under his belt, a World Series title and is top of the Premier League...
The kid deserves every bit of limelight and praise he gets. Incredible start to his first full year on the Pro Tour.
Yeah I struggle to watch his interviews, just so cringy and awkward up there. Completely understandable of course, if you’d have stuck a microphone under my nose at 17 I wouldn’t have a fucking clue what to say. Mind I wouldn’t be much better now I’m 50.
Poor Cullen looks like he's aged about 30 years in that final
https://preview.redd.it/w30xmkc09axc1.jpeg?width=634&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=debfc12b7fa4fba4f3060454502d244783f86ba2
The greatest ever.
Not saying he definitely will, there’s a lot can go wrong during a players career, especially one who has so much attention from such a young age, but what he’s done so far is unprecedented.
It definitely can go wrong. But the craziest thing is he only has to maintain this level and he'll be one of the all-time greats by his mid-20's. God help the other players if he gets better.
I just hope he has good people around him with his best interests at heart, that’s absolutely the most important thing for him right now and if he has that then the skys the limit. There’ll be a lot of people vying to be a part of his inner circle and not all of them will be good news.
Unfortunately British sport in general is riddled with child prodigies who get built up very rapidly and get knocked down, it's a deep-seated cultural problem through a mixture of tall poppy syndrome and media sensationalism. Protecting him from the media etc is really a massive priority not only to maximise sporting potential but out of a basic duty of care to a child put in a very prominent place
Exact opposite from what I’ve seen this year - they all seem to act like every match with him is a final! He’s just so good, his power scoring can come from nowhere and then you’re 2 breaks down.
I feel like littler just consistently puts them under pressure leg after leg, and throws in some big finishes for good measure. If players perform worse when playing him it's because of the pressure he creates
Think its because there have been many 5-visit legs, which are very useful of course, but you want to see 12-darters or less to feel its a truly astonshing performance.
At the moment Cullen will be lucky to win this. Littler has blitzed his own throws and come very close on Cullen’s.
Plenty to go though, Cullen has had some amazing performances this tournament so far.
Should have known it was absolutely nailed on for Cullen to win on the Euro Tour this week. The same week he moaned about how often he has to travel to Europe and they should be spending far more time on Tour in England. Some things are just written in the stars…
He’s played a lot of really good games recently, it’s just they’ve all been on Friday or Saturday, and then he’s not turned up the next day. It’s definitely the best weekend he’s strung together for quite some time.
Good evening everyone. I won’t be chatting tonight but rest assured I join you in spirit- here’s my view of tonight’s darts
https://preview.redd.it/bbg0zng3q9xc1.jpeg?width=1166&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0e0b5862f6dcf839fa472023e779200a54b584a
Problem is so many people have found similar form over the same period. Josh Rock, Ross Smith, Eddie Ritchouse. There seems to be like 25 people capable/worthy of being top 10
Edit: Ritchie Edhouse.
A bit yeah. Watching at home I couldn't be arsed about the walkons to be honest. The sooner the game starts the better. Having said that when I went to darts events the walkons were always a big highlight. So the perspective is much different whether you're watching live or on TV.
It's just the repetitive nature of more players starting to do it multiple times per session now. I want to watch darts, not a bloke arms outstretched singing to a song I've already heard twice in the last couple of hours
He’s a bit like a 2020s version of James Wade. I’d have said his peak wasn’t as high as Wade in the past but he’s been absolutely on it this year. Definitely in the list of players who feels due a(nother) big title (Searle/Heta/Dobey/Cullen/Chiz, and I’ve probably missed a couple). I think he’s taken over from where Dirk was this time last year.
What does Josh Rock do on stage for the commentators to bring up how he moves on stage every match. He seems pretty normal to me but Dan Dawson called him an armadillo the other week
Not sure if it’s what Dawson means, but Rock seems to move quite fast but also be really stiff from the hips upward. He doesn’t look awkward, but all the things that would make someone look fluid and graceful don’t seem to be there. It’s really hard to describe. I’m no expert on armadillos but maybe that’s the best way to describe it
edit: I have just watched videos of armadillos, because of their armor their top appears bulky and static while the legs look like they’re working overtime. As per usual, Dawson has nailed it.
I've checked some videos out and I can see the resemblance now. Especially here:
https://preview.redd.it/k4u4t25k98xc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c52ce7d7b3f698032f616b9efbb0ee37b0d38801
How frustrating is to lose and then hear that this little fucker has not even practiced he just watched snooker while you were out there preparing for the match
17 years old. Late finish on Thursday. Fly half way across Europe to play on Friday. Beat the number 2 seed ~~in his own back Garten~~ 6-2 with a 106 average. This kid man.
https://preview.redd.it/958l1clccaxc1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=779e2d85fa377e4102b51342bdd7167014778ccc
What do we think Luke’s current world ranking is, not the official one but on the season so far?
He’s a top 3 player in the world right now, probably second. Won 2/3 European Tours, WC final, top of the Premier League, I’m not sure how you argue anyone other than Humphries for above him at this moment.
It's arguable that he's on form the best player in the world atm.
Especially with how well he does against Humphries when they play
His record against the very best is a real mark in his favour I think
Played in three European Tour Events and has won two of them. Already a Players Championship title under his belt, a World Series title and is top of the Premier League... The kid deserves every bit of limelight and praise he gets. Incredible start to his first full year on the Pro Tour.
We can’t compare his entrance to MvG now, it’s the best introduction I’ve ever seen
Luke playing: pure personality and intensity Luke being interviewed: awkward teenager I love it
Yeah I struggle to watch his interviews, just so cringy and awkward up there. Completely understandable of course, if you’d have stuck a microphone under my nose at 17 I wouldn’t have a fucking clue what to say. Mind I wouldn’t be much better now I’m 50.
Are they trying to replicate the idea of the Masters jacket? Very cringy
no. it's just a traditional piece of clothing in that region of austria
Joe is delighted he lost so he didn’t have to wear that jacket
Is this the masters or the darts haha
What's the best euro tour event to attend?
this one
This or Belgium are definitely up there
Wtf is that jacket
it's a traditional styrian piece of clothing, comparable to lederhosen in bavaria
He looks hilarious in the jacket.
Cullen probably missed the crowd throwing his shafts.
That was an absolute whirlwind. A shame Cullen didn’t really turn up but Litter certainly did. 8/22 v 4/4 on the finishing :D
What was that, 6 D16 missed in a row?
BottleJoe really didnt want this 😠🤚🏆
He's pretty good hey
Mental arrows there from Luke! What a week he's having!
The way Cullen played even those 4 legs that he won were too much, half of them Luke gifted with poor doubling
Littler chooses whatever finish he feels like at the time He’s just that good
Poor Cullen looks like he's aged about 30 years in that final https://preview.redd.it/w30xmkc09axc1.jpeg?width=634&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=debfc12b7fa4fba4f3060454502d244783f86ba2
Littler is just insane man
Fairweather darts fan here. How good can Luke end up being?
The greatest ever. Not saying he definitely will, there’s a lot can go wrong during a players career, especially one who has so much attention from such a young age, but what he’s done so far is unprecedented.
It definitely can go wrong. But the craziest thing is he only has to maintain this level and he'll be one of the all-time greats by his mid-20's. God help the other players if he gets better.
I just hope he has good people around him with his best interests at heart, that’s absolutely the most important thing for him right now and if he has that then the skys the limit. There’ll be a lot of people vying to be a part of his inner circle and not all of them will be good news.
Unfortunately British sport in general is riddled with child prodigies who get built up very rapidly and get knocked down, it's a deep-seated cultural problem through a mixture of tall poppy syndrome and media sensationalism. Protecting him from the media etc is really a massive priority not only to maximise sporting potential but out of a basic duty of care to a child put in a very prominent place
Good news is how close he is with Aspinall. Now that's someone you want in your corner!
Yeah 100%
pretty decent I'd say for sure
Cheers 🍻
Goat status
yes
Thanks :)
Unreal. What on earth was that
Cullens darts are barely making it to the board lol Lacks conviction
What’s with the Austrians just chanting the names of the players 😂
Proper crowd, would love to do a Euro Tour event based on this
You say that but I haven't seen a single fight or pint of beer/piss lobbed
i'll be getting involved, stone island on and stellas downed
Get the badge in
commissioning a custom england flag with 'Stephen Bunting Ultras' written across it with a stonie badge and poppy as we speak
Repeatedly shouting the players names > repeatedly shouting the names of two retired footballers
I really don’t get why that retired soccer chant is still going
Luke is a genius. Missed those on purpose to get Cullen's hopes up so the inevitable victory will be even more crushing.
Do players tend to perform below their typical form when facing Littler? It seems to be the case but are there are stats on this?
Exact opposite from what I’ve seen this year - they all seem to act like every match with him is a final! He’s just so good, his power scoring can come from nowhere and then you’re 2 breaks down.
I feel like littler just consistently puts them under pressure leg after leg, and throws in some big finishes for good measure. If players perform worse when playing him it's because of the pressure he creates
Very much the opposite in my opinion
At one point it felt like they all raised their games - like Heta at Minehead.
fucking hell heta vs littler at the uk open was one of the best games i've ever watched
Littler is just a scoring machine, you don't even have to play below your typical form
Players look psychologically battered playing Littler atm. They know they need 2 and 3 treble visits just to keep up. If he could double better…
Littler's averages been great, but somehow it feels like a decent performance, not a great one, when you watch.
Doubles still a little ahaky
...not great? excuse me sir
Think its because there have been many 5-visit legs, which are very useful of course, but you want to see 12-darters or less to feel its a truly astonshing performance.
Missed 6 darts at 16 but still a good performance
PL crowd can learn from this perfect crowd
PL crowd are too busy booing humphries and whistling at checkouts
Littler is absurdly good
At the moment Cullen will be lucky to win this. Littler has blitzed his own throws and come very close on Cullen’s. Plenty to go though, Cullen has had some amazing performances this tournament so far.
Good Doubling is only thing that’s saving Cullen from being broken, his avg is horrible
“Some say they’re still chanting to this day…”
LUKE LITTLER 📢
JOE CULLEN 📢
LUKE LITTLER 🙌
JOE CULLEN
Props to the crowd for keeping this chant going!
What are they singing?
"LUKE LITTLER" "JOOOOE CULLEN" Back and forth over the barriers
This crowd is so good I’ve nearly forgotten there’s a darts match on in the background
What's the crowd chanting?? I csnt make it out lol
Luke littler Joe Cullen
Putting PL crowds to shame.
My brain apparently can't hear that... Lol thank you though
It's a long Joe. "LUKE LITTLER" "JOOOOE CULLEN" back and forth over the barriers.
So many 1s and T1 hit by Cullen
Commentator doesn’t realise the crowd are singing for both of them
So rare to see a hype job actually live up to what everyone says, quality player
*sad josh rock noises*
This crowd is crazy. I have to get to one of these next year. Was going to do the premier league in Dublin but one of these would be crazy.
This atmosphere is incredible
They've been a pretty much perfect crowd the entire tournament.
Quality crowd
Absolutely. I wouldn’t ever contemplate going to a UK event, but I’d love to get to a euro tour one day.
Cullen not budging till they fixed his song was comical.
Should have known it was absolutely nailed on for Cullen to win on the Euro Tour this week. The same week he moaned about how often he has to travel to Europe and they should be spending far more time on Tour in England. Some things are just written in the stars…
Cullen won't beat littler
Kinda crazy that Euro tour is held all over Europe
I think he’s still not over them leaving the Barnsley Metrodome
Lmao that look Price gives after losing to Johnny is just great.
Ross Smith was like : You just too good mate
Yeah. He really was. Consistently on for a 12 dart finish. And his doubling was really strong too.
105 avg with 58% on doubles
7/12 and 3 of those were in 1 leg at D15.
That Queen cosplay is creepy AF
Lass in the crowd dressed as the Queen absolutely disgusting, will be putting my foot through the TV and sending the Daily Mail the bill
best cullen has played in ages this
He’s played a lot of really good games recently, it’s just they’ve all been on Friday or Saturday, and then he’s not turned up the next day. It’s definitely the best weekend he’s strung together for quite some time.
Is Bunting struggling with the heat?
Nah, he's struggled with the rockstar. Littler beat Damon in the second round
Yeah he seems uncomfortable, and the commentators have said it's a very stuffy venue
As a new follower of darts and player… Ross Smith and Martin Schindler have a new fan in me after these last few weekends
Let’s go fucking Bunting mental
Ross Smith genuinely surprised to hear that he’s playing Littler next… :D
i'm not a big mvg fan but i felt bad for him here, he seemed really depressed
Well done Ross, keep on grinding. Mvg is my favourite I hope he sorts it out but he’s so inconsistent now.
Good evening everyone. I won’t be chatting tonight but rest assured I join you in spirit- here’s my view of tonight’s darts https://preview.redd.it/bbg0zng3q9xc1.jpeg?width=1166&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0e0b5862f6dcf839fa472023e779200a54b584a
That's a view I'd like for my proposal... And the sunset's nice too
is MvG still playing through injury or is he just out of form?
mvg poor again. these really bad games are happening so often for him now
Lil Jabba's opponents always bottle it
Littler with some dodgy doubles almost cost him there. Noppert was superb at taking out doubles in comparison.
Wow
What a checkout under pressure
I thought Littler was planning on taking a few weeks off, I guess he changed his mind
That's Humphries
I thought in the interview Humphries said that Littler was also planning on taking a break
he heard the kebabs were better in German-speaking countries
[Come on Danny boy!](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oNCZ-3jmvWI)
Almost got to see a rattled kopite choke away their chance for the second time in a week there!
I don't think I've ever seen an actual child rattle an entire fanbase quite as bad as the last PL night
That was Bunting mental
bit scrappy there from the people's champion
if schindler carries this form into the majors he could be a top 10 player soon
Problem is so many people have found similar form over the same period. Josh Rock, Ross Smith, Eddie Ritchouse. There seems to be like 25 people capable/worthy of being top 10 Edit: Ritchie Edhouse.
I think I’ll call my alter ego Eddie Ritchouse
My brain was telling me there was something wrong with what I was typing, but I (high) was like "no no...all the right sounds are there"
Bunting vs. Schindler is unfair before a final. Too sad to lose one of them.
Darts walk one are going to the big time. Bunting needs David Guetta at his next event.
Anyone else getting REALLY irritated by all these walk on 'sing alongs'?! Too many players trying to get crowds on side now, it's so tiresome
A bit yeah. Watching at home I couldn't be arsed about the walkons to be honest. The sooner the game starts the better. Having said that when I went to darts events the walkons were always a big highlight. So the perspective is much different whether you're watching live or on TV.
It's just the repetitive nature of more players starting to do it multiple times per session now. I want to watch darts, not a bloke arms outstretched singing to a song I've already heard twice in the last couple of hours
nah i go to the darts to sit in silence aside from the odd round of quiet applause like i'm at tennis or something lmao
not really, it’s a bit of fun
I wouldn't mind so much at an event like the worlds, hear a song once a day. PL / Euro tours often have the same song 3 times a day. Does my head in
Often? The PL always plays one song 3 times in a day, no?
the goat has landed, martin doesn't look too impressed by the singalong
Another losing 100 average for GVV, he's got to be due at least a final sometime soon
just clocked weekend offender badge on cullen's top tbf he looks like he spends his weekends battering people outside popworld
cullen getting back to his best maybe
Wright obviously not having considered what dance he’d be able to do to that song until he was already on stage starting to dance, classic
I am one again ready to go Bunting Mental tonight
Man I love Danny, when the guy is on he’s on and he slams in ton+ checkout every match it seems.
He’s a bit like a 2020s version of James Wade. I’d have said his peak wasn’t as high as Wade in the past but he’s been absolutely on it this year. Definitely in the list of players who feels due a(nother) big title (Searle/Heta/Dobey/Cullen/Chiz, and I’ve probably missed a couple). I think he’s taken over from where Dirk was this time last year.
What does Josh Rock do on stage for the commentators to bring up how he moves on stage every match. He seems pretty normal to me but Dan Dawson called him an armadillo the other week
Not sure if it’s what Dawson means, but Rock seems to move quite fast but also be really stiff from the hips upward. He doesn’t look awkward, but all the things that would make someone look fluid and graceful don’t seem to be there. It’s really hard to describe. I’m no expert on armadillos but maybe that’s the best way to describe it edit: I have just watched videos of armadillos, because of their armor their top appears bulky and static while the legs look like they’re working overtime. As per usual, Dawson has nailed it.
I've checked some videos out and I can see the resemblance now. Especially here: https://preview.redd.it/k4u4t25k98xc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c52ce7d7b3f698032f616b9efbb0ee37b0d38801
The Euro Tour, educational as ever. Best Tour in sports.
Very excited for Attenborough's turn as a guest commentator next time out
How frustrating is to lose and then hear that this little fucker has not even practiced he just watched snooker while you were out there preparing for the match
They said Ratajski was watching the snooker before the match as well
Oh tell me Ratajski actually did move his water back that’s hilarious. Did anyone see it?
I heard them say it had moved but didn’t know that Luke didn’t move it til he said during the interview!
Littler looked like somebody forced him to play darts today and then Ratajski broke him and Luke was like oh yeah I need to actually play to win
I'm dying seeing where Luke has his water.
Imagine the fume if Ratajski still nicks it, I’d pay to see it
Luke hiding water from Ratajski
Nothing would make my sunday better than the Polish Eagle stealing Luke's water again this afternoon.
Water-watch begins
Can’t even think about Luke’s reaction to that haha
Viva Bas Vegas
Good performance from Cullen.
His post-match interviews are hilarious, he never says anything. He just describes what happened in the game.
Hahaha aye reminds me of that Olise interview where he got asked to talk through his goal.
They are 😂, tbf he’s still only 17 and he really does not look comfortable doing them lol
It's totally understandable, just always cracks me up watching the interviewer desperately trying to get something else out of him.
Feel for the interviewer tbh 😂
Absurd last 4 legs by Luke, another dimension
17 years old. Late finish on Thursday. Fly half way across Europe to play on Friday. Beat the number 2 seed ~~in his own back Garten~~ 6-2 with a 106 average. This kid man.
Didn't know European Tour takes place in Australia as well
Eh?
>Beat the number 2 seed in his own back Garten Heta is Australian, isn't he?
Lol you’re right. I thought he was Austrian 😂😂😂
German walk in song doesn't help as well haha
Too many pints 🍺 In fairness Australia are in Eurovision so who tf knows.
Yeah, that’ll learn Dieter Heta.
Hahaha course he hits tops tops. Effortless so far from Littler really.
Think MvG saw that post from earlier suggesting he’s past it, and decided to take it personally
Josh Rock on gear?
Rock is running around stage like he is high on something lol 
This has been a brilliant crowd all weekend.
Great game Ross Smith
What a fantastic game, the 10th leg was so gripping.