LITTLER TEARS AS HE BECOMES YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMP

By Phil Lanning

TEEN sensation Luke Littler cried with joy as he became the youngest world darts champion and banked £500,000.

The Nuke revealed he watched a rerun of the 2024 world final loss to Luke Humphries and had a premonition he would lift the Sid Waddell Trophy.

He destroyed Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in less than an hour at Ally Pally.

Littler, 17, broke down in tears when he nailed double 16 and said: “I can’t believe it. We both played so well.

“Everyone dreams of lifting this trophy but you have got to get through a tough field.

“I learned a lot. Nobody knows this but, earlier today, I watched the whole game back against Luke. I just had the visions.

“I said in interviews that I needed to get a quick start  and that’s what I did.

“Michael was behind me, he was right behind me the whole way through.”

Classy MVG, the previous youngest PDC winner aged 24, said: “Every 17 years a star gets born  and he is one of them.”

Littler said: “At 2-0 up, I started getting nervous but told myself to relax. To get it over and done with, that was special.”

Littler, who has banked more than £1.5million in prize money since turning pro in January 2024, was handed the trophy by six-time Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy, who has prostate cancer.

And Littler added: “I could end 2025 winning absolutely nothing. But I picked up the best.

“I want to get more than ten titles this year.

“But if I end 2025 with nothing, I will have picked the big one up.”

Van Gerwen, 35, has lost in THREE world finals since claiming his third crown in 2019.

The Dutchman, who banks £200,000 as the runner-up,  paid tribute to his young rival.

But he swore on TV and this forced an on-air apology from Sky Sports.

Mighty Mike said: “I am an old b****** compared to him! I’m 35. He’s 17.

“He deserves this. Of course, it hurts. That is how it should be.

“If it doesn’t hurt, you won’t be a sportsman.

“I just have to move on. I have to make sure I keep playing better.

“I have to take it on the chin.

“I simply wasn’t sharp enough at the beginning of the game.

“I went 4-0 behind. After that, I wasn’t doing myself any justice. Then you need to try and just battle back.

“Fair play to him. Every chance he got, every moment he had to hurt me, he did. Fair play.

“I have had a lovely tournament and enjoyed this ride.

“But I was letting myself down too much.

“When you do that against a player with his ability and with his performance, then you will always be in trouble.

“You just have to take it on the chin  you have to move on.

“I will always take my hat off to people that beat me.”

Littler, who averaged 102.73 in the final, scored 76 180s across six games.

That saw him awarded the Ballon d’Art by Hoy for hitting most maximums over the 16-day event.

More than £1million has been raised for Prostate Cancer UK by the sponsors Paddy Power.

Images by Taylor Lanning.