Luke Littler’s fairytale run at the World Darts Championship came to an end on Thursday as he was beaten 7-4 by tournament favourite Luke Humphries in the final. Although the youngster was proud of all he had achieved at just 16 years old, Littler admits he was ‘angry’ at losing multiple legs on his throw.
Littler started strong and led the match 4-2 early on but a five-set blitz saw Humphries turn the tide in his favour as he secured his first world title and the World No 1 spot with a victory by seven sets to four. The pulsating nip-and-tuck affair saw both players average in excess of 100 in what will go down as an all-time classic finale.
“To lose at that stage, you can’t be angry with yourself,” Littler said. “The only thing I was angry with was losing a lot of legs on my throw. That one really annoyed me.
“But fair play to Luke, he deserved it. I’m happy: top 32, runner-up on my debut. It’s unbelievable. I might not get to a final for another five to 10 years, we don’t know. But I can say I’m a runner-up. Now I want to go and win it.”
“I have won six games here so why can’t I go and win seven here in years to come? I have gained a lot of experience and stage experience, I am in the top 32 now so I could be in everything. The past three to four weeks have been unbelievable, and now I just can’t wait to go home. I’m sorry I couldn’t give the crowd what they wanted.”
The turning point in the match came when Littler, in need of a double two to tie up the seventh set and extend his lead to 5-2 hesitated in order to check the score after hitting two treble 18s. As a result, the teenage sensation lost his rhythm and missed the red by a whisker allowing Humphries to pounce and narrow the margin.
From this point onwards Littler wouldn’t win another set as ‘Cool Hands’, living up to his nickname, completed a stunning comeback under immense pressure.
“I could not put into words how great this feels,” Humphries said. “I was thinking I had to win this one because he is going to dominate world darts. When I was on the brink of winning he was relentless.
“He is an incredible talent and I had to win this one tonight, he is going to win plenty that’s for sure. We will never ever see the likes of him again at that age, to go up on the world stage and produce those darts in the final, I love the kid to bits, he is a real credit. I hope he plays in everything because it is special.”
