LITTLER FIGHTS BACK TEARS AFTER RECLAIMING PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE

LUKE LITTLER broke down in tears and admitted he nearly walked away from darts during his sensational Premier League triumph.

The Nuke edged past Luke Humphries 11-10 in a nail-biting final to clinch a 13th major title and a second Premier League crown.

World No.1 Littler pocketed the £350,000 top prize after averaging a stunning 111 in victory over Cool Hand at the O2 Arena.

The teenage sensation had endured a difficult period earlier in the campaign following his Week Nine bust-up with Gian van Veen in Manchester.

Littler was then subjected to boos and jeers from sections of the crowd in the weeks that followed.

The Warrington wonderkid hit a record-low average of 83.94 the following week in Brighton as he suffered a 6-2 defeat to Stephen Bunting while being heavily heckled by fans.

But Littler responded in sensational fashion, winning six nightly titles, topping the table and eventually reigning supreme on Finals Night.

He said: “After Brighton, I came off stage with a 70-odd average.

“The incident in Manchester, I was sat at home saying to Faith, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’

“Just the crowds week in, week out… I said I was down bad.”

Humphries produced brilliant finishes of 134, 121 and 112 to storm into a 6-3 lead, but Littler battled back superbly in the contest.

At 8-8, Littler missed darts at double 18 and double nine to edge ahead, with Humphries capitalising to move 9-8 in front.

But Littler responded immediately, rattling off the next leg before firing in a stunning 10-darter to take a 10-9 lead.

Littler then missed a match dart at tops for an 11-9 victory, allowing Humphries to force a deciding leg.

However, Littler held his nerve in the decider, pinning tops with Humphries waiting on double eight to seal the title.

Littler survived a remarkable comeback from Gerwyn Price after storming into a 9-4 lead and missing multiple match darts but held his nerve to clinch victory in a tense last-leg decider.

Humphries survived a match dart and battled back from 9-7 down to edge past Jonny Clayton 10-9 in a thrilling affair.

Image by Taylor Lanning.