Luke Littler, the teenager who has taken the darts world by storm in recent weeks by becoming the youngest ever to reach the final of the World Darts Championship, managed to stop perhaps the biggest loser in the history of the sport. Littler, 16, lost 7-4 in the final round on Wednesday night to world No.1 Luke Humphries in an instant classic in which Humphries needed a dramatic comeback to win the 2024 title.
“I can’t put into words how great this feels,” the 28-year-old Humphries said after the match, according to the BBC. “In the back of my mind today, I was thinking, ‘Get this one now because he’s going to dominate world darts.’ He’s an incredible player. When I was there on the verge of winning, he was relentless.”
Hopes were high for Littler going into Wednesday’s final. Sky Sports’ pre-match panel not only debated whether the teenager could win the 2024 title over Humphries, but asked how many he would win during his professional career.
Luke Littler.
Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty
“We have to accept it,” said Sky Sports darts analyst Wayne Murdle, a former five-time world semi-finalist, of the global sensation Littler has caused in recent weeks.
16-year-old Luke Littler quickly wins World Darts Championship after reaching final: ‘It’s crazy’
Littler won the 2023 World Youth Championship, but still came into the tournament as a relative unknown, ranked 164th in the world. But within weeks, the Xbox-playing, pizza-eating teenager had set the darts world on fire and made international headlines – a rare sight for darts – when he began taking down opponents in a killer streak.
In the first round, Littler knocked out former world champion Christian Kist in a shocking upset. He defeated 2023 British champion Andrew Gilding in the second round. In the third, Littler raced to a quick 4-1 win over Matt Campbell, a five-year pro, before beating his childhood idol and five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld to reach the quarter-finals.
Littler then defeated veteran Brendan Dolan before downing another former world champion, Rob Cross, to reach the final against Humphries.
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Luke Littler.
Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty
Littler’s dominance on the world stage is as well-received as his calm approach, telling reporters during the tournament that he prepares for each match like any other: eating his daily omelette beforehand and simply working out.
“You’ll never see a 16-year-old kid as down-to-earth as he is — he’s just something else,” Humphries said after the final, according to the Associated Press. “He’s one of the best players in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”
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Littler looked poised to end his Cinderella story midway through the match with Humphries, jumping out to an early 4-2 lead in the set.
He almost took a 5-2 lead in the set, but narrowly missed the shot that would have closed the set. Instead, Humphries gained the upper hand to make it 4-3. That shot proved to be the turning point of the match as Humphries, a pre-tournament favorite nicknamed “Cool Hand Luke”, rallied to win five straight sets from first through seven. .Despite the loss, the teenager’s second place finish still earned him £200,000 (about $250,000) and saw his world ranking jump from 164th to 32nd. After the final, Guard reported that the English teenager has also accepted an offer to play in the Darts Premier League, the premier seasonal darts competition. “I’m happy,” Littler said after the final, according to the Associated Press. “Top 32, runner-up on my debut. Incredibly.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education