\n<\/p>\n
Wade started poorly, missing double eight to win the first leg, and Littler punished him to steal an early break of throw before he powered into a 3-0 lead with a staggering average of more than 120.<\/p>\n
Littler then won a scrappy 20-dart fourth leg as Wade blew an opportunity to get a foothold in the match, before normal service resumed in the fifth.<\/p>\n
Wade’s efforts turned to calamity in the ninth leg when he was left wincing after he jabbed himself in the hand with a dart when stepping from the oche.<\/p>\n
Indeed, a whitewash looked on the cards before Wade scrambled to land a messy 21-dart 10th leg with double five.<\/p>\n
Littler, who threw nine 180s, went into cruise control for the remainder of the contest, which allowed Wade to bag another leg with a checkout of 85 to reduce the deficit to 10-2.<\/p>\n
It made little difference to the outcome as Littler ruthlessly closed out a match in which Wade was barely able to land a glove on him.<\/p>\n
“He absolutely bashed me to bits but what can you do against that?” Wade said.<\/p>\n
“He was the far superior player, as much as it kills me to admit it, but it is what it is. For me, it’s a great step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
“Fair play to Luke – at the moment, he’s probably the best or the second-best darts player in the world.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n