Luke Littler may have lost the World Darts Championship final to Luke Humphries, but his teenage underdog run to the final has captured a new audience to a once closed off sport.
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00:00 2024 is only a few days old, but already it has produced one of the most talked about
00:08 and anticipated sporting events in recent times. 16-year-old Luke Littler made the World
00:15 Darts Championship Final in his debut year and was to take on Luke Humphreys, the world
00:21 number one in the sport. On his way to the final, Littler had defeated former BDO World
00:27 Champion Christian Kist, former PDC World Champion Rob Cross and five-time PDC World
00:33 Champion Raymond Van Barneveld, who had been Littler's idol growing up. And with the eyes
00:39 of the sporting world watching, Littler and Humphreys took to the stage. After a fast
00:45 start from Humphreys, it was Littler who made the first big break, going 4-2 ahead in sets.
00:52 He had the chance to go 5-2 ahead, but missed it on the double-two with Humphreys coming
00:57 in to make it 4-3 in sets. This brought Humphreys back into contention and Littler knew he was
01:05 in trouble. The world number one showed just why he is at the top of the rankings and won
01:10 consecutive sets to go 6-4 ahead and within just one of claiming his first world championship.
01:19 Littler did have the chance to reduce the deficit to 6-5 and give himself an opportunity
01:23 at an unlikely comeback, but he twice missed the double-seven, allowing Humphreys three
01:29 match darts. He missed the first, but took the second and was crowned world champion.
01:35 He received applause from Littler and from the Alexandra Palace crowd as they were witnessing
01:40 the coronation of a new big name in darts. Luke Littler may not have won the world championship
01:51 at 16 years of age, but his teenage underdog story has certainly captured the imagination
01:56 of the country and helped to introduce a new audience to the sport of darts. Social media
02:02 was awash with his name as he progressed through the tournament, with posts popping up constantly
02:08 about the final as it was taking place. His youthful nature has opened the doors to a
02:13 sport that was once dominated by middle-aged men. At the Millhouse pub in Warrington, not
02:21 far from where Littler hails, soft drinks were an offer to reflect his youthful age.
02:27 Many were in attendance to see him take part in the World Darts Championship final, with
02:32 those in attendance highlighting a different demographic to the traditional audience that
02:37 darts has become accustomed to. They showed passion and excitement as the local lad went
02:43 toe-to-toe with the very best in the world of darts. Luke Littler will undoubtedly have
02:52 further opportunities in major competitions given his age, but he has certainly made a
02:57 name for himself in darts, a sport which he has quite possibly changed forever.
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