- Luke Humphries defeated Luke Littler 7-4 to win the PDC World Championship
- Littler was the youngest player in tournament history to reach the final
- The teenager took a 4-2 lead in front of a raucous crowd at the Ally Pally
Luke Littler has vowed to go one step further at the PDC World Championship after losing 7-4 to Luke Humphries in the final at Alexandra Palace.
The 16-year-old's fairytale run looked set for the most incredible of finishes as he took a 4-2 lead at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night before Humphries rattled off five straight sets.
But Littler, who rose to fame in the past three weeks to become the youngest player to ever reach the final of the PDC Darts Championship, insisted there were plenty of positives to take from his extraordinary debut at the tournament.
“It was unbelievable,” he told Sky Sports after the final.
'I'm happy. I'm in the top 32 [in the world ranking] and I finished second on my debut [at the PDC World Championship]. It's unbelievable.'
Luke Littler's extraordinary run at Alexandra Palace ended with defeat in the final
The 16-year-old has vowed to go one step further when he returns to Alexandra Palace
When asked what he wanted to achieve when he returns to the Ally Pally next year, he replied:
“Win a game and see what happens next.
'It may be that I won't reach the final in five or ten years, we don't know, but I can say that I am second. Now I want to win.'
However, Littler admitted that the final would feel like a missed opportunity.
“The only negative was that I lost too much leg on my throw, which allowed Luke to break me,” he said.
“I just couldn't hold my own throw and I didn't win. That's the only negative.
“Every game was good, but that one really annoyed me, especially the three misses to keep it going.
Humphries trailed 4-2, but won five sets on the rebound and captured his first world championship
“That's what the crowd wanted, but fair play to Luke, he deserves it.”
And Humphries backed the teenager to 'dominate' the darts world for the foreseeable future after his thrilling run to the final.
'In the back of my mind I was thinking all day: 'Buy this now, because he [Littler] will soon dominate world darts!” said the new world champion.
He is an incredible player and when I was about to win he was so ruthless. I was really proud of the performance there.
“He is an incredible talent and I had to win this one tonight and he will win many more, I'm sure