It soon became clear that Littler’s dominance was less than in his matches on the way to the final. As the ViaPlay commentator noted in the fourth set, there seemed to be ‘some tension on Littler’s arm’.
The first set was decided in no time: Humphries only needed six minutes to take it. Littler, who had convincingly defeated his childhood idol Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 in the eighth final, immediately knew where he stood.
Two 12-darters in a row
It seemed to go the same way in the second act: Humphries quickly took a 2-0 lead in legs, while Littler seemed sensitive to nerves for the first time in this tournament. But then suddenly things started to turn around for the talent, and he did what he has been doing the entire tournament. With three convincing legs, including two 12-darters in a row, with a finish of 142, he still took the set.
In the third set, Humphries showed that he was not going to be walked all over, as had happened to the teenager’s other opponents. Littler started the set, but Humphries won 3-2 in legs. The 28-year-old number 3 in the world rankings took a 2-1 lead.
Ten minutes later, both finalists went into a short break with the scores tied in sets: 2-2. Although Littler missed a few doubles, he was clearly in charge of the set.
After the break, the super talent opened the gas tap a little further and the difference between the finalists increased for the first time. Humphries didn’t throw badly, but his averages and finishes simply couldn’t match those of the teenager. In set 5, Littler was the first to hold his own set, taking the lead for the first time. He also took the next set convincingly, a difference of two sets was made.
For a moment the super talent seemed to roll over Humphries, but again it was Humphries who struck back, and how. He threw consistently and hit many of his doubles, while Littler looked less sharp. Humphries started the next set with a 170 finish, then followed it up with a 180 in the second leg. It became exciting, but he reduced his deficit to 4-3.
He then leveled the score at 4-4 with a sharp set, and he continued with two more good sets to create a difference of two again, but now in Humphries’ favor: 6-4. This is how the 28-year-old reached match point.
Yet Littler still showed beautiful things, like here:
Humphries proved he could handle the pressure and was not deterred. In another exciting final set, he kept his cool and finished the match with conviction. After his last arrow he fell to his knees in emotion.
2024-01-03 22:04:49
#Darts #sensation #Littler #bows #Luke #Humphries #thrilling #World #Cup #final
