Luke Littler: Teenage sensation becomes youngest darts world champion ever

CNN
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Teenage phenomenon Luke Littler became the youngest ever world darts champion on Friday when he defeated three-time winner Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final.

Despite being just 17, Littler went into this year’s PDC World Darts Championship as both the odds-on favorite and a star who has pushed the boundaries of the sport following his unexpected run to the final last year.

A raucous crowd at London’s Alexandra Palace serenaded him with chants of “Walking in a Littler Wonderland,” but that pressure and expectation didn’t seem to affect Littler’s playing.

He quickly built a 4-0 lead and although Van Gerwen came back to win three sets, the 35-year-old Dutchman, who at 24 was the youngest world champion ever, never really seemed able to challenge him.

Ultimately, Littler finished the game with an average score of 102.73 to Van Gerwen’s 100.69, scoring 12 180s – the maximum score in a single round – compared to his opponent’s 13.

“I can’t believe it, honestly, I can’t believe it,” he told Sky Sports immediately after his win, his voice almost drowned out by the crowd chanting behind him.

“We both played so well. I’ve said in interviews that I need to get off to a quick start tonight, and that’s what I did. …Everyone dreams of winning this trophy, but you have to get through a tough field before qualifying, I can’t believe it.”

Since rising to fame last year, Littler has become a household name in his native Britain. His age, his openness in interviews and his matter-of-factness make him popular with the British public. Even the country’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, congratulated him on “an inspiring performance under this pressure to lift the trophy.”

Such is his fame that the popularity of darts itself has exploded, but afterwards he refused to say whether he was now the best player in the world.

“I won’t say I’m the best, maybe statistically I’m the best, but I’ll never say it,” he told reporters.

For his opponent Van Gerwen, however, Littler is a generational talent. “Every opportunity he had, he did it. I sometimes say, ‘Every 17 years a star is born’ and he is one of them,” he told Sky Sports.