Luke Littler becomes £275,000 richer as he beats Luke Humphries in thrilling Premier League Darts final aged just 17
LUKE LITTLER celebrated an incredible nine-dart finish as he sensationally became the youngest Premier League Darts champion in history.
The Warrington ace, 17, banked £315,000 as he won the second-biggest event in the sport following an 11-7 victory over world No.1 Luke Humphries in the final.
PALuke Littler won the Premier League in London[/caption]
Littler beat his familiar foe Luke Humphries
A PDC UK record crowd of 14,000 at the O2 Arena in London were manically bouncing off their chairs in euphoria as the teen talent hit the perfect leg in leg 11.
It was the first time there had been one in a Prem final since Phil Taylor struck two nine-darters in the 2010 finale at Wembley.
It means he has gained sweet revenge for losing to Humphries back on January 3 in the final of the World Darts Championship at Ally Pally.
Fans sang “Walking in a Littler Wonderland” as he emulated the likes of Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson by succeeding on his debut appearance.
Luke The Nuke – the most famous darts player on the planet – received £275,000 for this stunning triumph at the climax of the eight-player invitational tournament.
And he will also get a £40,000 bonus for the four nightly victories, which saw him top the table.
Littler moved into the final with a thumping 10-5 victory over Michael Smith in a one-sided semi-final in which he took out a 144 checkout and was two darts away from a nine-darter.
In the other semi-final, Cool Hand Luke also progressed 10-5 as he celebrated his SEVENTH win in a row over Dutchman Van Gerwen.
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PALittler pulled off an incredible nine darter in the 11th leg[/caption]
Before last night, world No.25 Littler had won eight of the previous eight meetings with practice partner Humphries.
The Sky Sports production team had a right mare as the TV scoreboard graphic froze and disappeared for two of the opening three legs – so nobody watching knew what the score was.
At times, frustrated Humphries waved his hand in such a way to suggest there was a draught on stage and it was affecting his throw.
It was 5-5 at the first TV break but on the resumption, emotionless Littler achieved a moment of sporting perfection – even Humphries had to stop and applauded the brilliant act.
Even though the adrenaline was coursing through his veins, Littler composed himself and sealed the victory on double top.
Littler, who was sitting his GCSEs this time last year and is too young to vote in July’s General Election, has also become the youngest major winner on this side of the darts divide.
The kid will now head to Wembley to watch his beloved Manchester United take on rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup Final on Saturday afternoon.
And then it is a trip to New York to appear in the US Darts Masters where he has probably got a new audience of fans.
Inside Littler’s massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has since joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
Check out all of our Luke Littler stories here.
Littler celebrated with his family and wiped away the tears before saying: “For all the doubters, hello! I have just picked up this, you don’t doubt me anymore!
“It’s so good to win in front of my girlfriend, manager and family. I don’t know what to do now!
“I came off for the break. I went to the toilet and came back on. I thought, right, we are on until the end. I needed the toilet after the two legs.
“All of us players love a break. We come back on and do what we have to do.
“I practised hard today. I was dead focused. I didn’t want to blink. I am a major winner now.”
Humphries said: “I tried to stick in there. There was a massive breeze all night to deal with. Credit to Luke, he handled it well.
“He played much better. He is a fantastic player. Me and Luke are the two greatest players in the world.
“I love playing him. We will have a lot of battles in the future. He deserved it throughout the season.”
