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Littler needed just 11 minutes to overcome the Belgian. Baetens kept pace with the teenager as they exchanged holds in the opening set, but Littler stepped up a gear and won five consecutive legs to advance to the second round with a 104 average. The 18-year-old now faces James Wade for a place in the quarter-finals and told the PDC’s official website: “My finishing was very good tonight and it needed to be, because Andy is a dangerous player.
“I would love to win another major title, and obviously this would be a new major to add to the list, but it’s a very strong field, so I’m just going to focus on tomorrow night.” Michael van Gerwen, beaten by Littler in the World Championship final, also dominated in a 3-1 win over Bradley Brooks. Van Gerwen won seven out of nine legs to cap off his performance and said: “I felt really comfortable tonight.
“I could have easily averaged over 100, but you have to live with it and move on, and I have to make sure I’m even sharper in the next round.” Van Gerwen meets Dimitri Van den Bergh in the last 16 after he won six consecutive legs to triumph against double world champion Gary Anderson. Jonny Clayton averaged 112.
77 on his way to beating Germany’s Martin Schindler. Clayton landed five 180s and nailed 66 per cent of his double attempts in an impressive performance. The world number seven said: “Everything clicked tonight.
“I had to produce my best against a player like Martin and thankfully I did, so I’ve got a big smile on my face!” Nathan Aspinall kicked off his clash against Andrew Gilding with a 161 finish and never took his foot off the pedal as he eased to a 3-0 win. Aspinall, who averaged 103, said: “The whole package was there tonight, and I have walked off stage probably the happiest and most confident I’ve been in three years!” Cameron Menzies booked his place in the second round with a 3-1 win over Dave Chisnall, while Ryan Searle also ran out a 3-1 winner against Chris Dobey. Wade was forced to work harder to advance after edging a five-set thriller 3-2 with Mike De Decker.
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