Luke Littler endures awkward moment on stage as opponent grabs nipple and slaps him across head

Luke Littler received an unusual greeting from his fellow competitor Nathan Aspinall during their Premier League Darts match in Brighton on Thursday night.

The two met in the quarter-finals, where Littler enjoyed a straightforward victory over Aspinall, winning 6-3. With an average score of 93 in the quarter-final match, Littler had no trouble outscoring Aspinall, with the young player achieving more 100 plus and 140 plus visits to the oche.

However, while Littler didn't face any challenges from Aspinall in terms of gameplay, he was teased on stage by his opponent. Aspinall was seen approaching Littler from behind, grabbing his nipple and slapping him on the head, in a strange but funny interaction between the two.

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To those unaware, it might seem odd, but everything ended well as both Littler and Aspinall are good friends. They share the same management team and often practice together, which led to some playful banter between them before Thursday's match.

"Rest assured I'm going to smash him in Brighton," Aspinall joked in an interview with SportsBoom before the Premier League match. "I keep telling Luke, the next time we meet on that stage, I'm going to batter him. We train together regularly, and he's never beaten me in practice. He hit that fantastic nine-darter against me in Bahrain, but it'll be a different story in Brighton."

In the end, though, it was Aspinall who felt embarrassed as Littler was the one who thrashed him. The young star was so good on stage in Brighton that he quickly went ahead 5-1 before winning the match 6-3.