Barry wins JDC Super 16 title

Keane Barry, Luke Littler (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

Keane Barry lifted the Junior Darts Corporation's 2020 Riley's Super 16 title in Milton Keynes on Sunday, defeating Luke Littler 5-3 in the final.

Irish sensation Barry, 17, made it a hat-trick of big-stage crowns in under four months having won the Irish Matchplay in Dublin in October and the JDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace in December, days after making his PDC World Championship debut.

Barry continued his rise at Marshall Arena with a hard-fought 5-3 victory over 13-year-old Littler, who was making his big-stage debut.

A high-quality start saw Barry break throw in 15 darts in the opening leg, only for Littler to respond in kind with a 14-darter.

With Littler waiting on tops to take the lead, Barry produced a stunning 152 checkout to regain the lead before pressing home his advantage by winning the next two legs, the second of which he won in 11 darts.

Littler responded by firing in his first 180 of the match on his way to winning the next two legs, but any hopes of a last-leg decider were thwarted by Barry, who hit a 12-dart leg to end the contest with a 95.6 average.

"It's nice to go out with a win in my last JDC event," said Barry, who came within one win of securing a PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School in January.

"It's an amazing feeling to play well up on the big stage and it's a feeling I want more of.

"I feel comfortable playing on stage now, I think that probably played a big part in the game today but Luke is a brilliant player and he will go far.

"I'm going to play in the Development and Challenge Tours in 2020 and hopefully keep progressing through the ranks."