I watched Luke Littler stage epic Glasgow comeback live: Here's my Premier League Darts verdict from the Hydro

The darts hype train has well and truly left the station with Glasgow its latest stop for Premier League business.

Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey and Michael van Gerwen. The stars were out in force but this sport has been taken more into the mainstream focus than it ever has been with its latest, and perhaps in time the greatest, big superstar in Luke Littler.

As I rocked up to the OVO Hydro roughly 90 minutes from match one of the second night in the Premier League calendar between Cross and Littler, there was the usual attire to point. Only at the darts could you walk past someone dressed as a traffic cone and think nothing else of it.

But perhaps what was most striking this time was the sheer amount of youngsters and they were all kitted out in ‘The Nuke’ t-shirts. The current world champion has brought a new generation to the game and it will be better for it in time, and a sold-out crowd played into how talented this current crop of players is.

I’d spoken to people backstage who said the sheer amount of young faces in the crowd was unheard of. A stark contrast to where things were only a few years ago. But as he went 5-1 down to Cross in the opening match, you could feel a bubble of excitement bursting.

That was no disservice to Cross who had put on stellar display on the doubles until that point. He was dealt a brutal hand as he ran into a crowd begging for Littler to progress and the teen sensation duly obliged by spinning out five legs on the spin with his opponent becoming more and more frustrated amid boos and jeers every time he stepped up until the oche.

There was little such drama in the next match as the crowd were denied from going Bunting mental as Michael Van Gerwen thrashed the Bullet. Aspinall’s Mr Brightside went down a storm with the packed crowd but Price lived up to his Iceman persona to edge out the fan favourite.

Down went Dobey to a classy Humphries display and Littler was back on the stage with a vengeance soon after. MVG will be sick of the sight of the Nuke who blew him away 6-2 to set the stage for Price to come out for battle with Humphries. As the whistles rained down from the crowd, he whistled right back after a 180 and that was followed up with a ‘f***k off’ in jest to the section of punters who were dished a taste of their own medicine.

His bravado was outgunned by sumptuous darts by Cool Hand who hit double doubles at will to meet Littler in the final. In the range of outcomes that were available before a dart was thrown, this was no doubt one many of the people in attendance wanted to see.

They weren’t at their best in a game filled with whistling, jeering and the odd flash of brilliance. But Littler hung on and edged out a 6-5 win to get his Premier League campaign off the ground for 2025.

He said post-event: “Yeah, obviously, there was a few in particular that were doing it when Luke was throwing. Kirk (Bevins, referee) told them to be quiet and it got even worse, and then I missed doubles and Luke breaks at 5-4.

“I’m just like, ‘Kirk, you’ve made it worse for me there, I’m 5-4 down.’ But I broke back. If it’s the same (outcome) as what it was when Kirk said it, then obviously just leave it. Obviously, they’ve got to step in at some point and say something. But yeah, that was pretty bad, but I got the win.”

“I think everyone knows that I’m a quick starter, and that’s probably second time that I’ve got a massive lead on Michael. And then, obviously Michael got a few legs on the board, but I was just too good for him. Especially losing in the way I did last week, I just wanted to put it right this time.

“And that’s what I did. I got more points on the board and then I beat Luke. To pick up maximum points on week two is really good.”

Overall, I found the quality on show from the players outstanding, true masters of their craft. The whistling and jeering inside the event was loud, especially for the opponents of Littler, and that is something that may be looked at in reflections of this event. The crowd overall though wasn’t the rowdy mob that some make it out to be, but a section of the punters certainly wanted to make their whistles heard.

Perhaps what was more interesting is the new generation who have been introduced to the sport. Littler has provided the platform, but the rest have backed it up with the fireworks to help sustain the momentum and make darts as popular as it ever has been.