At 16, Littler reached the final of the World Darts Championship, one of the most unexpected sporting events.
At 16, Littler reached the final of the World Darts Championship, one of the most unexpected sporting events.
Luke Littler continued one of the most unexpected feats in sporting history by reaching the final of the World Darts Championship at the age of 16 on Tuesday.
Littler, a player from Runcorn in north-west England who took up darts at a young age, defeated 2018 champion Rob Cross 6-2 and then Luke Humphreys in the title match on Wednesday. “I was happy to win one match, but we could have won them all,” said Littler, who was making his tournament debut. “My aim was to be here after Christmas and now we’re in the final.”
The winner of the final will receive 500,000 pounds ($630,000) and Littler, who is guaranteed 200,000 pounds ($250,000) himself, said he would stick to his pre-race routine. “For breakfast I have an omelette with ham and cheese, then pizza, then I work out on the board,” said the teenager.
World junior champion Littler grabbed the headlines at Alexandra Palace with his incredible run, which also saw him topple his idol, former multiple world champion Raymond van Barneveld. On December 20, he defeated Christian Kist in the first round to become the youngest winner of the tournament, which began with fans chanting “School tomorrow”. Littler’s new celebrity status has earned him and his family free tickets to Premier League games at Arsenal and Tottenham.
He lost the first set against Cross for the first time this tournament, but finished the match with an average of 106 over. Humphreys, seeded third, will be playing in his first world final after beating Scott Williams 6-0 in the second semi-final.
“I’m probably going to have to play the game of my life tomorrow to have a chance,” Humphreys said of the game against Littler.
