Luke Littler has shared what Rob Cross told him after the 16-year-old beat his compatriot to reach the World Darts Championship final on Tuesday night. Against the odds, unseeded teenager Littler has reached the final of the prestigious darts tournament on his debut at Alexandra Palace.
Littler was imperious again in his semi-final and recovered from a set down to beat 2018 world champion Cross 6-2. He is the youngest person ever to reach a World Championship final.
The Warrington wonderkid only turns 17 later this month while the previous youngest finalist was Kirk Shepherd in 2008. He was 21 years and 88 days old at the time.
After winning, Littler shared a nice moment with Cross – ranked eighth in the world – on stage at Ally Pally and has now revealed what the 33-year-old said in his ear. The youngster told Sky Sports: “He just said ‘God bless, I respect you, do it.'”
Luke ‘the Nuke’ added: “No words. It’s crazy to even think I’m in a world final on my debut. I was happy winning one game but I could go all the way.
“It’s not [easy]. You’re playing Rob, he is a world champion, he won on debut same as me. I’ve got no words.” The winner of Wednesday night’s World Championship final stands to walk away with £500,000.
Littler has already pocketed £200,000 from his run to the final and said of his pre-match plans: “Do what I’ve been doing. In the morning go for my ham and cheese omelette. Then come here, have my pizza and get on the board. That’s what I’ve done every day so far.”
He continued: “I just wanted to win my first-round game, that was it. Here I am in the final. I’ve just settled on that stage. It takes me a few legs to settle into a game but once I’ve found that rhythm, I’m good to go.
“I threw well again and I got over the line again. It’s crazy. There’s no more development tour for myself, I’m just happy to be in the top 32 and I could go even higher.”
On his way to the final at Ally Pally, Littler has defeated Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, his hero Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and now Cross.
Asked if he would be watching the other semi between pre-tournament title favourite Luke Humphries and Scott Williams, Littler said: “I’ll be watching. Me and Scott played in the Europe Cup last year. It’s crazy to think me and Scott were playing in the WDF and then we could be in a world final.
“I’m sure it’ll be another cracking game.” And of a picture of him and Humphries from 2019 going viral, he explained: “Yeah we were in Haven Island for a darts festival, I was only 11 or 12 so could only play in the under-12s and under-15s.
“It’s crazy to see how Luke was there and look at the changes he’s done, the majors he’s won, the winning streak he’s been on. Whoever wins out of that would deserve it.”
