02 January 2024 , 22:49
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Luke Littler will face Luke Humphries in the World Darts Championship final on Wednesday - and his blockbuster showdown offers him a chance of redemption.
Littler, 16, has set Ally Pally alight over the last fortnight and is the youngest-ever player to reach the decider of the premier darts tournament. The teenager has already proved he is the real deal but produced his biggest statement yet as he downed eighth seed Rob Cross 6-2 in stunning fashion on Tuesday night to reach the final.
And he will go up against Humphries, who made light work of Scott Williams in the second semi-final to secure a stunning 6-0 win. Before Tuesday's encounters, a social media message resurfaced from four years ago in which a fresh-faced Littler posed for a picture with his rival.
It came after the youngster was beaten by his opponent in a Hayling Island competition. Littler's post, which was dated November 2019, was captioned: "Lost out in quarter-finals last night at Hayling Island comp to Luke Humphries. Missed a few chances to go ahead and a bull for a 164 but gave him a great game. Two Youth comps today Under 14’s and Under 18’s hopefully make tomorrow’s finals on stage."
And having been beating more than four years ago, Littler now has a chance of getting revenge when he faces Humphries in a mouthwatering contest. Littler is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, which would rival Emma Raducanu ’s US Open win in 2021.
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In his victory over Cross on Tuesday night, he bombarded the treble-20 16 times, produced three 130-plus checkouts and averaged 106.05 in a nerveless performance. 'The Nuke’ is trying to emulate 2018 champion Cross by lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on debut and few would bet against him as his juggernaut looks impossible to stop.
Luke Littler poses for a picture with Luke Humphries back in November 2019Whatever happens in Wednesday’s final he is the story of the tournament. He has earned celebrity status and his exploits have transcended the world of darts, already appealing to a younger generation of fans, with broadcaster Sky Sports reporting they had an 18.5 per cent share of all under-35 viewing in the UK for his New Year’s Day quarter-final win over Brendan Dolan.
He only qualified for the tournament by winning the World Youth Championship in November and his fairytale run has put the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) under pressure to hand him a place in the forthcoming Premier League.
There is more immediate work to do, though, as his attention turns to Wednesday’s showpiece. If he performs like this he will be a heavy favourite as he outplayed Cross, who was by no means under-performing.