EIGHTEEN days before his 18th birthday, the boy became king.
In a dead-eyed display that made William Tell look like Elmer Fudd, Luke Littler established himself as the best archer on the planet and the youngest world darts champion of all time.
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At the age of seven, Littler is the youngest winner of the PDC world title Credit: Getty
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Luke Littler became world champion at the age of 17 Credit: Reuters
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An emotional Littler covered his face in disbelief
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Michael van Gerwen failed to win his fourth Ally Pally titleCredit: Reuters
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Littler was in tears after the win
Littler broke the record of his opponent, Michael Van Gerwen, who won the first of his world titles at the age of 24.
But the phenomenally darting man-child did more than that. He broke the spirit of the best player of the previous generation.
The man from Holland had no answer for the kid in Never-Never Land, as Luke the Nuke ran out victorious 7-3.
And Littler, a year after reaching the finals in his first visit to this great Ally Pally jamboree, lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy, named after the great bard of oche.
One of Waddell’s greatest quotes went like this: ‘When Alexander of Macedon was 33, he wept salty tears because there were no more worlds to conquer… (Eric) Bristow is only 27.’
Well that’s a decade older than Littler is now.
All the masquerade shenanigans in the crowd make this PDC event incredibly cheerful, but they almost did the 17-year-old a disservice.
Because, seriously, this wasn’t panto. It was one of the best performances you’ll ever see from a 17-year-old in any sport.
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It was a magnificent teenage performance that takes your breath awayCredits: PA
After only 24 minutes of play, Littler led four sets to nil. It was a magnificent display of cruelty.
It was Van Gerwen’s seventh world final but, especially in the early stages, he looked like a panicked rookie.
Inside the World Darts Championship cheerleader ahead of Luke Littler’s semi-final
There was a sense of inevitability and destiny as Littler reached this final – especially after reigning champion Luke Humphries was knocked out before the pair could meet in the semi-finals.
But before the start this one seemed far more difficult to call. Van Gerwen had Littler, whom he had met on 12 previous occasions, and the clash between them was tied at 6-6.
Van Gerwen has been a dominant figure in the sport since the end of Phil Taylor’s long period of dominance.
Yet it has been six years since the Dutchman was last crowned champion, and since then he has lost two world finals, undergone two major operations to correct a jaw problem and suffered from debilitating bouts of gout.
Littler has been throwing darts, literally, since he was in diapers.
From throwing darts at a magnetic board as a toddler to last year’s miraculous march to the finals, Littler has been on a mission to win this title.
That debut campaign was sensational, as the previously unknown kid slayed some of the biggest names in the sport. This time the hunter became the hunted.
Littler’s game was not at its best until he beat Stephen Bunting 6-1 in Thursday’s semi-final – after Van Gerwen triumphed against Chris Dobey with the same empathetic result.
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Littler pockets £500,000 with his historic world titleCredit: PA
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He peaked in darts before his 18th birthday Credit: AP
It was a night of brass monkeys outside this hilltop Victorian folly in north London.
Men dressed in traffic cones and cans of baked beans navigated the icy pavements knowing they were holding golden tickets to one of the most anticipated darts matches of all time.
After being booed wildly by the crowd, Van Gerwen squandered two chances to kill the first leg and Littler took the first set against a toss – with neither player looking completely relaxed.
In the second, Littler was in machine mode, giving maximums, scoring the finish, looking like a man with all the experience and poise.
A leg up in the third, Van Gerwen missed three darts at double top to concede a leg and finally the set.
The three-time champion managed two of his first 11 attempts in the outer ring and feared something of a whitewash.
Littler’s shock bullet was next, followed by his favorite bed of double ten.
It was confident stuff and Van Gerwen looked awfully rattled and seriously wobbly on his feet – Littler took 11 of the first 13 legs.
After only 20 minutes of play, Littler led 3-0 in sets and 2-0 in legs. Soon Van Gerwen missed three more pars – 14 of 17 – and Littler took a 4-0 lead.
The older man beamed as he marched off stage during the break, desperate to pull himself together and find some Dutch courage.
And he did that, he got into his rhythm and on the scoreboard, shooting his way to the fifth goal.
Every time he had a pitch in the sixth, Littler opened with a 180. He didn’t give a muzzle to the opponent.
Van Gerwen now played properly, taking the second set, but Littler broke him with 11 darts to lead 6-2.
For the first time in the match, the Dutchman broke Littler’s throw and closed the ninth set.
But that didn’t matter, the final set was an utterly flawless Littler’s white.
Afterwards, tears of joy streamed down his face before he opened up about his record-breaking win.
He told Sky: “I can’t believe it. Honestly. I can’t believe it.
“We both played so well. I knew I had to start well and I did.
“Michael was right behind me the whole game.
“Everybody dreams of lifting this trophy. So it’s really a dream come true.”
Littler went 25 of 45 in doubles play, an impressive 55 percent.
He continued: “I’ve been practicing backstage on tops and tens (D10).
“At 2-0 I started to get nervous, but I told myself ‘just relax’.
“I was pitching for the match, but to finish it and be done with it was special.”
He added: “I could end 2025 winning absolutely nothing. But I picked up the best.
“I want to get more than 10 titles this year. But if I end up with nothing in 2025, I’ve picked up the big one.”
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Littler lifted the Sid Waddell trophy after the win. Credit: Getty
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