Luke Littler has made even more history by becoming the youngest player ever to win the coveted World Darts Championship.
The 17-year-old demolished three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final, to round off what has been an incredible debut year in the PDC.
Speaking to Sky Sports after getting his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy, Littler said: “I can’t believe it! Honestly I can’t believe it.” Later in the interview, he described that “everybody dreams of lifting that trophy,” but that he had to come through “a tough field” in order to do so.
Before the match, most people, pundits and fans alike, had predicted that the final would be a close encounter which could swing either way. This was not to be the case however, as The Nuke stormed into a 4-0 lead in sets without breaking a sweat, which gave van Gerwen a mountain to climb if he was to successfully reach a fourth world title. Mighty Mike was able to grab a few sets as the match wore on, with his first set won with a lovely 132 finish, which would turn out to be the Dutchman’s highest of the match.
Despite MVG picking up sets here and there, Littler was able to defend his sets on throw well, which allowed him to creep ever closer towards a maiden world title, and rectifying the defeat suffered to Luke Humphries at this stage 12 months ago. The match drew into a consistent pattern of holds of throw in sets, which led to the game being 6-3 to The Nuke, who had the advantage of throw in the tenth set.
This set would turn out to be the last, as Littler demolished van Gerwen 3-0 in it. The match was nearly won in style, as Luke missed double 16 for a champagne 132 finish, after successfully hitting two bullseyes to start the visit. He would get the job done in the next visit though, hitting the winning double 16 on his second attempt to seal a 7-3 victory, and etch himself into darting history by taking Michael van Gerwen’s own record of being the youngest ever PDC World Champion, at the age of just 17 years, 11 months and 13 days.
Littler’s world title earns him another £500,000 in prize money, which puts him firmly as the world number two. So far, in just over a year as a PDC professional, he has earned a staggering £1,118,500 of ranking money. The second place ranking also gives him automatic entry into the Premier League of Darts, a title he is looking to defend. What is absolutely sure is that while Luke has already amassed a staggering prize fund and trophy cabinet, this is only just the beginning of what could be another great force in the sport of darts.