Wade started poorly, missing double eight to win the first leg, and Littler punished him to steal an early break of throw before he powered into a 3-0 lead with a staggering average of more than 120.

Littler then won a scrappy 20-dart fourth leg as Wade blew an opportunity to get a foothold in the match, before normal service resumed in the fifth.

Wade’s efforts turned to calamity in the ninth leg when he was left wincing after he jabbed himself in the hand with a dart when stepping from the oche.

Indeed, a whitewash looked on the cards before Wade scrambled to land a messy 21-dart 10th leg with double five.

Littler, who threw nine 180s, went into cruise control for the remainder of the contest, which allowed Wade to bag another leg with a checkout of 85 to reduce the deficit to 10-2.

It made little difference to the outcome as Littler ruthlessly closed out a match in which Wade was barely able to land a glove on him.

“He absolutely bashed me to bits but what can you do against that?” Wade said.

“He was the far superior player, as much as it kills me to admit it, but it is what it is. For me, it’s a great step in the right direction.

“Fair play to Luke – at the moment, he’s probably the best or the second-best darts player in the world.”