Luke Littler vs Michael van Gerwen live: Score and updates from World Darts Championship final

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Luke Littler vs Michael van Gerwen live: Score and updates from World Darts Championship final
Author: Luke Slater, Jeremy Wilson
Published: Jan, 03 2025 20:06

The dream final has its fairy-tale ending. Luke Littler, the most famous 17-year-old in Britain, is also now the youngest world champion in the history of darts. That he should achieve this feat by fully seven years tells you everything about a jaw-dropping achievement that rates with any of the most seismic teenage accomplishments in sport. And, after losing when the country briefly seemed to come to a standstill in last year’s final, Littler’s second shot at destiny could hardly have been more emphatically taken.

Nicknamed “The Nuke”, Littler was utterly destructive in racing to a 4-0 lead against the Dutch maestro Michael van Gerwen before then holding his nerve quite magnificently to seal a 7-3 victory with a maturity that defied his years. Littler raised both arms towards his family as the final double 16 went in before the tears flowed. Later, when the presentations were over, there were wonderful on-stage moments as he embraced his parents Anthony and Lisa.

This was both the realisation of a freakish talent and the demolition of a darts legend. Littler was only 18 months old when he first began throwing darts in nappies at the magnetic board his dad had purchased from a pound shop. He would score his first 180 at the age of six, the same year that Van Gerwen won his first world title in 2013. He then hit his first nine-dart finish at the age of 13, the same year that the Dutchman won the third of his world titles. In the four years that have since passed, Van Gerwen lost in two more world finals. Littler had meanwhile used the countless spare hours during the Covid-19 lockdown to hone his game and become one of the best players in the world.

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