Luke Littler suffers shock defeat to bus driver 24 hours after winning £15,000 prize

Darts sensation Luke Littler suffered a surprising defeat at the Players Championship, losing to a bus driver just a day after he won the first event of the ProTour double-header

The 17-year-old had previously won £15,000 in prize money at the tournament, having hit a nine-darter on his way to winning in Wigan on Monday, but was beaten by Radek Szaganski, who drives buses in Cork for extra cash. Szaganski, originally from Poland but now living in Ireland, beat Littler in the last-64 round.

This was a new challenge for Littler, who had bounced back well after losing the PDC World Championship final to Luke Humphries earlier this year. Despite a strong comeback from Littler during his match against Szaganski, it was the Polish-Irish player who took the deciding leg.

Luke Littler gets £15,000 boost after Gerwyn Price's 'amateur' blast at PDC

Littler handed two-year PDC ban as twist in tale emerges after World Darts Championship heroics

However, it was Gary Anderson who eventually won the title. Littler had started the day with a win against former UK Open Champion Danny Noppert.

The teenager will next face Gerwyn Price in Glasgow on Thursday. Price didn't play in the second Players Championship, having complained of feeling too cold on Monday and deciding to pull out midway through his clash with Brendan Dolan.

The Welshman shared 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."

Meanwhile, Littler is keen to move past his setback, aiming to qualify for this year's World Matchplay and World