Luke Littler started his World Championship defence with a far-from comfortable victory over Darius Labanauskas in the first round as he had to dodge an attack from the infamous Ally Pally wasp.
The reigning world champion returned to the Ally Pally stage for the first time since he beat Luke Humphries in the final last January. And the new world No.1 had to still harbour that sparkle to avoid a major upset against Labanauskas. Despite sealing a 3-0 win, Littler won only four more legs than his opponent and had to average 101.54.
Littler took on the 49-year-old Lithuanian, who is a legend in his own right at the Palace, having reached the quarter-final in 2020 and hit a nine-dart finish the following year against Mike De Decker.
It was as difficult a first-round opponent as the teenager could have been drawn up against, and so it proved as Littler’s relief was obvious when he pipped Labanauskas to the checkout to win the opening set.
Labanauskas twice took the lead in the first set, holding his throw and forcing Littler to level twice before checking out 76 to win the fifth leg against the throw, averaging 103.59.
‘The Nuke’ celebrated by putting in a jig reminiscent of Danny Welbeck’s celebration for Manchester United at the Santiago Bernabeu as he smiled and laughed with the crowd while joining in with the fans as they shouted out the darts anthem ‘Chase the Sun’.
Littler pulled more uncomfortable facial expressions in the second set as he attempted to shake off the world No.95. ‘The Nuke’ was again taken the distance in the second set, needing another fifth leg decider to take a 2-0 lead despite hitting four 180s and a 101.21 average in the set.
‘The Nuke’ again responded to a set-opening leg won by the Lithuanian by hitting his first ton-plus checkout of the match, finding the bull on 124. Littler punished Labanauskas again with another ton-plus finish for a 120 out to break his back, before he returned to checkout on D6 to seal the victory and book in place in the second round.
But clearly not everyone was a fan of Littler’s performance as the villainous Ally Pally wasp made its first appearance of the year, forcing the world champion to duck and dodge out of the way during his post-match interview.
The Ally Pally wasp has been the cause of trouble at the World Championships and the snooker throughout the years.
While wasps do only have a lifespan of around six weeks, the family that has clearly settled at the iconic venue love carrying on the tradition every year.