LUKE LITTLER has successfully kicked off his title defence at Ally Pally.
And he even had time to kiss his beautician girlfriend Faith Millar ahead of his straight-sets win over Darius Labanauskas.
The defending champion and World No1 had quite the eventful opening night at Alexandra Palace as he also came face to face with an old foe – the infamous WASP.
The Nuke now has the luxury of ten days off before he returns to the big stage to continue his pursuit of the £1million prize money.
But as he spoke post-match to presenter Emma Paton, Millar, 18, will have had a chuckle to herself as boyfriend Luke dodged and shuffled around to avoid another confrontation with the insect.
She’s recently been in the corner of the champ, who regularly has his parents in the crowd during competition cheering him on.
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LUK OUT!
Speaking after successfully avoiding a sting, Littler said: “It definitely wasn’t easy.
“Look at the stats there, it didn’t feel like that. But I am happy. Happy with the win.
“There are a bit of nerves but once you come up here, you win a leg, win two legs, then you win the set, it proper settles you down.
“That first set was crucial against the darts and to come back on stage, another 3-2 set – but as long as you win the sets that is all that matters.
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“Everyone in the tournament just wants to get the first round done. It’s definitely the hardest game. I am very happy with that.
“It’s my first tournament here. Back for a third time. First game done, and now I get 10 days off.”
It was another close shave for Littler, who had another moment with the Ally Pally wasp back as a 16-year-old.
Back in the 2024 edition of the championships, after victory over Brendan Dolan on New Year’s Day – he almost got stung.
He said at the time: “I’m not sure what happened there.
“I felt a little zap, I saw it fluttering around near the end.
“It didn’t bother me. I felt it a little bit. I’m not sure if I was stung.
“But I had to focus and get over the line.”
