- Luke Littler hit a brilliant nine-dart finish in the Premier League Darts final
- The 17-year-old checked out at 141 during his clash with rival Luke Humphries
- Littler went on to win his first ever Premier League Darts title at the O2 Arena
Luke Littler hit a stunning nine-darter on his way to winning his first Premier League Darts title at the O2 Arena in London.
The 17-year-old advanced to the final on Thursday evening after a dominant 10-5 win over Michael Smith in the semi-finals and continued to impress shortly afterwards.
Against Luke Humphries, Littler stepped up and hit the impressive nine-darter to take a 6–5 lead in the showpiece event, sending a record crowd of 14,000 into pandemonium.
In doing so, he became the first player to hit a nine-darter in the Premier League final since Phil Taylor did it twice in 2010.
In the 11th leg of the final, Littler hit back-to-back 180s before checking out at 141 with a treble 20, treble 19 and a double 12.
Luke Littler hit a stunning nine-dart finish on his way to winning the Premier League Darts final
Littler threw the perfect dart and drew a record crowd of 14,000
The 17-year-old enjoys the applause after hitting the nine-darter at the O2 Arena
Humphries sportingly applauds the teenager for his perfect dart kick in the 11th leg
Humphries stood and applauded as the 17-year-old rejoiced with the crowd, before cheekily checking his watch as if to suggest he had been waiting for the finish line.
In this historic moment in the sport, fans flocked to social media to heap praise on the teenage sensation.
‘The Pele of darts. What a joke of a player,” said a fan after his nine-darter.
Another claimed there were ‘no words left to describe this child’, while another insisted the ‘ridiculous’ Littler was ‘unplayable’.
One fan couldn’t believe what he had just seen, saying, “I said I refuse to let Littler surprise me anymore and then he does.”
Littler then held his nerve to beat Humphries 11-7, the man who beat him in the World Cup final earlier this year.
His triumph on Thursday means Littler takes home the £275,000 prize on another brilliant night in the teenage sensation’s early career.
The victory for ‘The Nuke’ continues an astonishing story that began when he took to the stage at Alexandra Palace at Christmas and has since transcended the sport.
Fans flocked to social media to praise the 17-year-old after his nine-dart finish
Twelve months ago he was taking his final exams; now he is one of the country’s most famous sports stars.
And he backs this up on the oche, following up World Series and European Tour titles with a first major win.
He was the best player at the tournament, topping the 16-week competition stage, after being given a wildcard into the event due to his performances at Ally Pally.
Critics wondered if he was up for the challenge and he proved them all wrong.
“One thing I wanted to say to all the doubters: ‘Hello!’” he said. “I just noticed this, you don’t doubt me anymore.”
Littler kisses his girlfriend Eloise Milburn after winning his first ever Premier League Darts title
The 17-year-old raises the Premier League Darts trophy above his head in celebration
Humphries said: ‘I was trying to stay in there, there was a huge breeze on stage all night and it’s so hard to deal with.
‘He’s a fantastic player, he really is. I think Luke and I are the two biggest players in the world right now. We’re going to have a lot of battles. He deserves to be Premier League champion.’