Premier League Darts returns to Brighton tonight as Luke Littler goes in search of his second victory in this season’s competition. The 18-year-old edged Luke Humphries in the final on night two in Glasgow last month and will go head-to-head with Chris Dobey in his opening match at The Brighton Centre.

Littler clinched the Premier League Darts trophy in his maiden appearance in the competition last year after overcoming Humphries in the final of the play-offs at the O2 Arena. The blockbuster star illustrated his prodigious talent throughout the competition and showed off his unwavering confidence when he attempted to leave himself with a tricky bullseye finish on night six in Brighton. And Rob Cross later collared Littler behind the scenes to extol the teenage sensation for his bravery.

Littler had been leading Nathan Aspinall 5-3 in his quarter-final match on the south coast and had left himself with 144 to close out the match.

But after hitting a double 20, he attempted to challenge himself at the oche by aiming for a double 17.

If he had hit the target, he would have left himself with a shot at the bullseye to clinch the win. He ultimately missed the double as his arrow found the single 17 and was forced to wait for his next trip to the oche to cement his place in the semi-finals.

Littler’s decision to attempt the unconventional checkout proved to be a huge talking point at the time, with Aspinall seen sharing a joke with his rival a short time later. And Cross made a beeline for Littler as the duo crossed paths backstage after the match.

Cross was overwhelmed with excitement as he bounded up to Littler to collar him and shake his hand. And he proclaimed to the youngster: “Did you see that? What a pair of cojones.”

The 34-year-old then left Littler to it, with the teenager suffering a 6-3 defeat to Michael Smith in his last-four showdown.

Cross and Littler have met on 11 occasions, with the youngster coming out on top in nine of those encounters.

The duo faced each other five times in the Premier League last season as Littler tasted victory in four of those clashes. But they are yet to meet in the competition this season ahead of the trip to Brighton.

Littler, who won his first World Championship at the start of the year, is the favourite to win night five. And he is also the favourite to win this year’s Premier League Darts title outright.