Luke Littler suffers PDC Tour shock 24 hours after winning Players Championship

Darts prodigy Luke Littler suffered an unexpected defeat at the Players Championship on Tuesday when he lost to a bus driver.

After a fantastic debut in the Wigan double-header 24 hours earlier, where he came out on top with £15,000 in prize money, Littler was beaten by Radek Szaganski, a bus shuttle operator from Cork. Szaganski, 44, originally from Poland but now living in Ireland, managed to beat Littler in the last-64 round.

Despite a strong comeback from Littler, bringing the score to 5-5, it was Szaganski who took the deciding leg. However, the title eventually went to Gary Anderson. Littler will be back on the dartboard when he faces Gerwyn Price in Glasgow on Thursday. Price didn't participate in the second Players Championship after feeling too cold and pulling out of his match with Brendan Dolan.

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The Welsh player posted on Instagram: "Travel all the way to Wigan to play in a professional game and we have to play in less than amateur conditions. Never have I ever given a game up. Well that's me out of tomorrow as well. Gutted because my game was really good today and I rely on these events so much."

Littler is ready to move past his minor set-back and qualify for this year's World Matchplay and World Grand Prix. "Me and my manager know what I have to do to qualify for the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix so, after [winning] the first event, I'm not far off," he said.

"I know I've got about 13 or 14 ProTour [events] before the Matchplay, but it's always good to get off to a good start. I want to try and qualify for everything. I know my game