Luke Humphries ends teenager Luke Littler’s dream run to win world darts title

LONDON – England’s Luke Humphries fought back to end the fairy-tale run of 16-year-old Luke Littler and become the world darts champion for the first time at a raucous Alexandra Palace on Jan 3.

Littler, whose run to the final captured the imagination of the British public and delighted the hordes of fancy-dress clad fans who descended on the citadel of darts for three weeks, looked poised to become the youngest world champion as he built a healthy lead in the best-of-13 set final.

But world No. 1 Humphries lived up to the Cool Hand Luke nickname emblazoned on the back of his shirt and stormed back with relentless precision to reel off five successive sets and claim a 7-4 victory.

Humphries, 28, rattled in an incredible 23 maximums and averaged 103 to seal victory with a nerveless double eight to claim the title and the £500,000 (S$842,000) winner’s cheque.

He was overcome with emotion at the end as he fell to his knees on the oche before embracing Littler.

“I could not put into words how great this feels,” Humphries, who has dominated the sport in recent months with a flurry of major titles, said on stage.

“Honestly, I was thinking in the back of my mind, ‘get this one now’ because he’s going to dominate world darts soon. He’s going to win plenty, I’m sure. He’s an incredible player.

“He missed one dart for a 5-2 lead and, if that had gone in, it would have been a real uphill battle.”

Littler, who turns 17 on Jan 21, could not quite sustain the magic that had seen him into the finale with a series of incredible victories, including a 4-1 defeat of five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.

He also defeated 2018 world champion Rob Cross to reach the final.

A rare miscalculation left him needing a double two in the seventh set for a 5-2 lead. But he could not find the target and it was to prove his undoing as Humphries made a 121 checkout with a bull and then found another level.

“It’s been incredible but I lost too many legs from my throw,” said Littler, who has celebrated his wins with kebabs.

“I got to the final and might not get to another for the next five or 10 years. I can say I’m runner-up but I just want to go and win it.”

Littler, who had won 25 of the 31 sets he played on his way to the final, was the youngest finalist, breaking the previous record set by 21-year-old Kirk Shepherd in 2008.

And while he failed to go one better than Shepherd, it seems only a matter of time before he wins the title.

“You will never see a 16-year-old kid as down to earth as him – he’s just something else. He is one of the best players in the world, no doubt about that,” Humphries said. REUTERS