Gerwyn Price secured his second nightly victory in this year’s BetMGM Premier League with a clinical 6-3 success against Luke Littler in Thursday’s Night Six final in Nottingham.
The Welshman extended his remarkable winning run against Littler to six games at the Motorpoint Arena, defying a 103 average and seven 180s from the teenage phenom to triumph.
Price stormed to victory on Night Three in Dublin, although back-to-back quarter-final defeats against Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen saw him relinquish his place in the top four.
However, the 40-year-old catapulted himself up to third in the table with victories over Stephen Bunting, Van Gerwen and Littler on a compelling night of action in the East Midlands.
Price condemned Bunting to a sixth straight quarter-final defeat in a high-quality opener, despite the St Helens ace averaging 102 and converting a spectacular 170 checkout in the penultimate leg.
The Markham ace then powered past Van Gerwen in the last four, averaging 107 and landing four maximums to set up a fascinating showdown against reigning champion Littler.
Price punished four missed darts in the opening leg from Littler to seize the early initiative, before firing in back-to-back 14-darters to race into a 3-0 lead.
Littler opened his account with a 12-darter in leg four, but after restoring his buffer with a brilliant 123 combination on the bull, Price then produced another ton-plus checkout to clinch the £10,000 bonus.
“Luke is the best player in the world at the minute, and he’s going to be for many years," reflected Price, who is now four points clear in the race for Play-Off qualification.
“It’s the same when you play Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson. You know you need to be at your best to beat these players.
“I’m just glad to get another win tonight. I have tried to be more positive this year, and it is showing on the board.
“In the last few years I’ve been quite negative, but before the World Championship I did some work with a sports psychologist trying to put my frame of mind in the right place, and it’s worked.”
Littler’s run to a fourth nightly final saw him move top of the table at the expense of his great rival Humphries, who he overcame in the evening’s opening quarter-final.
The World Champion recovered from 4-3 down to defeat the world number one, turning the tide with a clutch 164 combination in leg eight.
The Warrington wonderkid then conjured up sensational 167, 127 and 164 finishes - all on the bullseye - on his way to defeating Rob Cross 6-3 in the semi-finals, averaging 107 in the process.
Cross had recorded a resounding 6-2 win over Chris Dobey earlier in the night, converting six of his seven attempts at double to triumph with a ton-plus average.
Van Gerwen, meanwhile, reeled off three straight legs to overturn a 4-3 deficit against Nathan Aspinall in the evening’s other quarter-final, as the Dutchman cemented his place in the top four.