Humphries ends Littler's dream run to win the PDC World Championship
England's Luke Humphries fought back to end 16-year-old Luke Littler's fairytale run and become PDC World Darts champion for the first time on Wednesday at a raucous Alexandra Palace.
Littler, whose run to the final captivated the British public and delighted the hordes of fancy-dress clad fans who descended on the darts citadel for three weeks, appeared poised to become the world's youngest champion as he built a healthy lead in the best-of-13 set final.
But Humphries, the 28-year-old world number one, lived up to the Cool Hand Luke nickname emblazoned on the back of his shirt, storming back with relentless precision to win 7-4.
Humphries threw an incredible 23 maximums, averaged 103, and won with a nerveless double eight to take the title and the 500,000 pounds ($633,100) winners' cheque.
At the end, he was overcome with emotion and 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 string 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, ranked 164th in the world at the start of the tournament and the tournament's youngest finalist, was unable to sustain the magic that had propelled him to the final with a string of incredible victories, including a 4-1 victory over five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.
A rare miscalculation left him needing a double two in the seventh set for a 5-2 lead, but he was unable to find the target, which proved costly 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 victories 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 had played on his way to the final, was the youngest ever finalist, breaking the previous record set by Kirk Shepherd, who was 21 at the time. While he did not outperform Shepherd, it appears that he will win the championship soon.
SportsLigue