Luke Littler brutally begins mind games before Prem finals as rivals 'mistake' dug out

Reigning champion has already fired shots at ahead of their meeting at finals night next Thursday. Littler will play the Welshman in the first semi-final at the O2, followed by Luke Humphries taking on Nathan Aspinall.

Littler had already secured first place in the standings before the final weekly meeting in Sheffield last night, and . 'The Nuke' overcame Humphries 6-3 in the final to finish on 45 points, beating the previous record marker of 40. The 18-year-old's final victory featured 155 and 170 checkouts as he clocked up eight ton-plus finishes on the night.

Price, meanwhile, had started the night in third place. However, he was leapfrogged by Aspinall after 6-2 against before losing 6-4 to Littler.

That proved enough to overtake 'The Iceman' after he fell at the first hurdle to Chris Dobey. The 6-2 defeat means he'll now have to beat the world No.2 in London just to get a shot at a first crown.

Afterwards, Littler taunted 'The Iceman' by implying he'd made a telling error, saying: "Gezzy tonight, if he won, he would have jumped to third," he said in his press conference. "Is that a mistake? Because I'm certainly ready for next week."

The teenager has won his last two meetings with the Welshman, although he has often struggled against the 40-year-old. It's Price who leads their head-to-head record 7-6 after 13 meetings.

However, after his slip in Sheffield, he spoke about the benefit of opening the night at the O2. On Instagram, he wrote: "I just wanna play first next week, gives me more time to rest for the final."

The pair will meet in a best-of-19 legs affair next week, before playing the winner of Humphries v Aspinall. The final will be best-of-21, with the two Lukes on course for a repeat of their 2024 meeting.