A fairytale triumph wasn’t to be for teen darts sensation Luke Littler as his dreams of victory were shot down in the PDC World Championships final.
The 16-year-old ace has thrilled fans up and down the country during the past two weeks in a scintillating bid to become the youngest darts world champ.
But he lost by 7-4 in a memorable final. Littler had faced the biggest night of his life as he took on world No1 Luke Humphries in front of a sell-out crowd at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Elsewhere, millions were glued to their televisions at home and in pubs and sports bars across the nation.
On his way to the stage, Littler hugged girlfriend Eloise Milburn, 21, before sharing a fist-bump with Humphries. Famous faces who bagged one of the hottest tickets in town were Tottenham star James Maddison, Brentford prospect Romeo Beckham with girlfriend Mia Regan and former boxing champ Derek Chisora.
Littler went toe-to-toe with his more experienced opponent, but it was the 28-year-old Humphries who showed why he was on a 19-game winning streak and looking to add to his World Grand Prix and Grand Slam titles from 2023.
He clawed his way back to victory – after Littler led 4-2 in the middle of the match – by taking the last five sets.
Littler, from Warrington, had already secured a £200,000 prize in becoming the youngest player to make the final. Earlier he said he would prepare for the match with his traditional routine.
The teen explained: “I will go for my ham and cheese omelette. Then for lunch I will have my pizza. I will practise on the board. That’s what I’ve done every day.”
He began playing darts on a magnetic board when he was just 18 months old and entered this tournament ranked 164th in the world. His meteoric rise has transcended the sport and seen record audiences for a darts tournament. His semi-final match set a Sky tournament viewing record with a 2.32 million peak.
The record for a darts final is 8.3 million when qualifier Keith Deller won the 1983 title by upsetting favourite Eric Bristow on the BBC.
