Luke Littler.Photo:Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty
Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty
“I could not put into words how great this feels,” Humphries, 28, said after the match, according toBBC. “In the back of my mind throughout today, I was thinking, ‘Get this one now because he’s going to dominate world darts soon.’ He’s an incredible player. When I was on the brink of winning there, he was relentless.”
Hopes were high for Littler coming into the final round Wednesday. Sky Sports’ pre-match panel not only debated whether the teenager could win the 2024 championship over Humphries, but asked how many he’d go on to win throughout his professional career.
Luke Littler.Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty
“We need to embrace it,” Sky Sports darts analyst Wayne Murdle, a former five-time world semi-finalist himself, said about the global sensation Littler sparked in recent weeks.
Littler won the world youth championship in 2023 but still came into the tournament a relative unknown, ranked No. 164 in the world. But in the matter of weeks,the Xbox-playing, daily pizza-eating teenagerset the darts world on fire and made international headlines — a rarity for darts — as he began taking down a murder’s row of opponents.
In the opening round, Littler whitewashed former world champion Christian Kist in a shocking upset. In the second round, he defeated the 2023 UK Champion Andrew Gilding. In the third, Littler cruised to a breezy 4-1 win over Matt Campbell, a five-year pro, before going on to take down his childhood idol and five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld to reach the quarterfinals.
Littler then defeated veteran Brendan Dolan before knocking off another former world champion, Rob Cross, to reach the finals against Humphries.
Littler’s dominance on the world stage was as equally embraced as his calm approach, telling reporters throughout the tournament that he was preparing for each match like he would any other: eating his daily omelet beforehand and simply practicing.
“You will never see a 16-year-old kid as down to earth as him — he’s just something else,” Humphriessaidafter the final, according to the Associated Press. “He is one of the best players in the world, no doubt about that.”
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Littler looked poised to cap off his Cinderella story midway through his match with Humphries, jumping out to an early 4-2 set lead.
source: people.com
