- Gilding takes a 3-0 lead against the teenage sensation in Dortmund, Germany
- Littler tied 3-3 and then 4-4 but could not avoid defeat
- The 17-year-old has lost in the first round in each of his last three major tournaments.
Luke Littler suffered a shock first-round defeat to an opponent 36 years his senior and was knocked out of the European Championships on Friday.
The 17-year-old has been eliminated in the first round of each of his last three major tournaments, with the most recent defeat coming at the hands of former butcher Andrew Gilding in Dortmund, Germany.
Suffolk-based Gilding, nicknamed Goldfinger, never trailed the teenage sensation en route to a 6-4 victory. The 53-year-old had built a 3-0 lead before Littler could turn things up.
However, Gilding was able to pull off a surprise victory after Littler tied the score again at 4-4. Littler’s defeat follows first round eliminations from the World Matchplay in Blackpool and the World Grand Prix in Leicester.
“I wasn’t expecting this, seeing how Luke had been playing lately.” Gilding said after the game. ‘I always lack self-confidence. I never expect to win a game.
Luke Littler suffered a surprising defeat in the first round of the European Championship in Germany
Andrew Gilding claimed his first victory over the teenage sensation in a display of confidence.
Little tied things at 3-3 and 4-4, but Gilding kept his composure to put the teenager out of the competition.
‘Especially against Luke and especially because he also had a terrible cold. I’m at the end of that. I felt terrible coming to this. I said beforehand that I wanted to cross it off the list. It was the third time I played with him. So third time’s the charm.
‘It’s a great victory. The last thing I expected. Nobody expected this. I was thinking about the flights home on Saturday. The way he had played lately was exceptional. I resigned myself to losing. “In training I was terrible until the last moment, but everything went well.”
Gilding made his television debut in 2011 before reaching the first PDC final of his career at the second UK Open Qualifier, where he beat the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and Phil Taylor.
The right-hander had to wait until 2023 to claim his first televised title when he survived a dart to defeat Michael van Gerwen 11-10 and claim the £100,000 prize.
Gilding has enjoyed the best form of his career in recent years, reaching the latter stages of several PDC events including the World Matchplay and Masters.
In the next round he will face local favorite Ricardo Pietreczko.
Elsewhere, defending champion Peter Wright suffered an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Dutch player Jermaine Wattimena.
Before their clash, Peter Wright was dethroned as European champion after suffering an embarrassing 6-0 defeat to Dutch player Jermaine Wattimena. The Scot averaged only 74.81 during the match.
It was the sixth consecutive year that the defending champion was eliminated in the first round of the competition.
