Luke Littler gave up a 4-0 lead in his quarterfinal defeat to Michael van Gerwen on night 12 of Premier League Darts in Liverpool.
The 18-year-old, who was booed by the crowd for his Manchester United fandom, looked well placed for a record fifth nightly win of the season before missing a dart at bullseye for 5-0.
Van Gerwen clawed his way back to 4-3 and was given a repreive in leg nine when Littler missed at double 20 and double 10 for match darts. The Dutchman capitalised on it and went on to win 6-5.
Despite the loss, Littler remains top of the standings. Meanwhile, Van Gerwen was beaten by Luke Humphries 6-4 in the semifinals.
Humphries could have cut Littler's lead at the top of the table to two points but he was beaten in the final by Gerwyn Price, who finished the night with an average of 104.