Luke Littler has thrown his support behind fellow PDC Tour Card holder Justin Hood after the world number 86 produced a sensational upset at Alexandra Palace, knocking out sixth seed Danny Noppert in a dramatic second-round clash.
A Debutant's Dream Run Continues
Justin 'Happy Feet' Hood, making his World Championship debut, followed up a commanding 3-0 win over Nick Kenny with a breathtaking performance against the highly-fancied Dutchman on Tuesday night. The 32-year-old from Glastonbury stormed into a 2-0 lead, firing in three 180s and maintaining a stunning average of over 102 across the opening sets.
Despite Noppert's resilient fightback to level the match at 2-2, Hood held his nerve in a tense sudden-death leg decider. He sealed a famous 3-2 victory with a superb 78 checkout, booking a place in the third round after the Christmas break where he will face Ryan Meikle.
Littler Leads the Praise for 'Happy Feet'
Reacting swiftly to the shock result, Luke Littler – who eased past David Davies in his own opener – took to social media to applaud Hood's achievement. Sharing a Sky Sports interview image of the victorious debutant, Littler posted a message filled with emojis stating: "What a man [penguin emoji, foot step emoji, love heart eyes emoji]."
The statistics from Hood's win were as impressive as the result itself. He finished the match with a 103.01 average, landed 11 maximum 180s, and converted 42.86% of his attempts at double. Reflecting on his epic win, Hood remained characteristically calm: "It was a good game and I knew it would be because Danny is a class player. I don't worry about the pressure, I just throw the darts and if it's good enough, it's good enough. Tonight it was."
Fallout and Festive Fixtures
Noppert's exit means he becomes the 17th seeded player to be eliminated before Christmas, a list that grew on Tuesday to include Daryl Gurney and Peter Wright. The evening session, however, saw big names like Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen, and Josh Rock safely progress.
The controversy from the first round also lingers, with Jake Littler preparing to face Mensur Suljovic on Saturday. Suljovic faces accusations of gamesmanship from Joe Cullen after their first-round match, though Luke Littler defended the Austrian's methodical style, stating it was "not cheating" but simply how he plays.
The World Championship now takes a three-day festive break, resuming on Saturday 27th December with Wesley Plaisier versus Krzysztof Ratajski.
