Luke Littler has secured qualification for a European Tour event despite one of his opponents hitting a nine-darter to give him a much-needed boost ahead of night four in the Premier League.
The teenager had been having a tough week in Leicester before he enjoyed success in Wednesday's ET4 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers.
Littler is again having a busy build-up to Thursday's Premier League action, having entered the Players Championship 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday.
He failed to win either tournament but was back at the Mattioli Arena on Wednesday in an attempt to qualify for European Tour events.
Luke Littler qualified for a European Tour event on Wednesday
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Littler was among 90 players who were attempting to seal qualification for two tournaments in Germany in April.
He had to finish in the top 10 of the qualifiers in order to secure his entry for the events.
The teenager lost in the first round of the ET3 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers, going down 6-3 against Jitse Van der Wal averaging just 81.97.
That means he will not be attending the International Darts Open in Riesa between April 12 and 14.
But Littler had to dust himself down for the ET4 Tour Card Holder Qualifier later on Wednesday afternoon.
He got off to the perfect start in the Top 160 stage, beating George Killington 6-1 with an average of over 107.
Littler then beat 2010 World Championship finalist Simon Whitlock 6-5 in an extremely close encounter.
Whitlock hit a nine-darter but was just edged out in a final-leg thriller by his 17-year-old opponent.
Littler then overcame Danny van Trijp in the top 40 stage, winning 6-5 in another deciding-leg encounter.
That set up a clash against the experienced Ian White, who whitewashed Luke Humphries in a Players Championship match at the start of last week.
The match again went to a deciding leg but Littler just had too much for the 53-year-old and saw out a 6-5 win to secure his place in the top 10.
Littler's four wins on Wednesday afternoon means he has qualified for the European Darts Grand Prix, which takes place in Sindelfingen between April 19 and 21.
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Luke Littler has qualified for the European Darts Grand Prix after succeeding on Wednesday
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It was a welcome boost for the teenager, who wouldn't have been pleased with his performance on Monday and Tuesday.
He lost in the quarter-final of the Players Championship 3 on Monday against Callan Rydz.
Littler then crashed out of the Players Championship 4 early on Tuesday, losing to James Wade in the first round.
He now heads to Newcastle buoyed having qualified for the European Darts Grand Prix.
Luke Littler will be back in action at the Premier League on Thursday
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Littler has picked up five points in his first three weeks in the Premier League, losing in his quarter-final against Gerwyn Price in Glasgow last time out.
He takes on Peter Wright in his quarter-final on Thursday, with the Scot still looking for his first point in the competition.