Englishman Luke Humphries celebrates winning the world title Source: SITA/AP/Kin Cheung
LONDON – Luke Humphries became the premier world champion in darts within the PDC organization. The 28-year-old Englishman defeated his compatriot Luke Littler, who is 12 years younger, 7:4 in Wednesday’s final in London.
Littler made it to the finals as the youngest player in history. The turning point of the final meeting in London’s Alexandra Palace occurred in the seventh leg at a score of 4:2 for Littler.
LUKE HUMPHRIES IS WORLD CHAMPION! 🏆
Darting destiny fulfilled.
The world number one gets over the line against teenage sensation Luke Littler in a thrilling final! pic.twitter.com/IP6pPaWndm
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2024
The English teenager failed to complete the double two, which Humphries immediately took advantage of and started his successful journey to turn around and win the financial reward of 500,000 pounds. Littler collected a prize of 200,000 for the second place. “It was incredible, the only negative about the final is that I lost a lot of legs on my serve. But Luke deserved it.” said the 16-year-old finalist Littler for the British television Sky Sports.
After the semi-final meeting, Humphries officially became the new number one in the world ranking. After winning the premier title of world champion, he highlighted the performance of his opponent. “I can’t put into words how I feel. Now I’m world champion and world number one, what more could you want? In the back of my mind all day, I said to myself, ‘Get the title now, because Littler will soon rule the darts.’ He’s an incredibly talented player.” Humphries said to his opponent.
Photo gallery (10) Megatalent Luke Littler had to settle for second place Source: SITA/AP/Kin Cheung
In his debut among the elite, junior world champion Littler performed superbly throughout the three-week tournament, but today he was not enough for the favored compatriot. He did not break the record of the Dutchman Michael van Gerwen, who became the champion at the age of 24, but he is clearly the youngest finalist. “I’m disappointed today, but all the matches in the tournament were excellent. The final in the first participation is incredible.” Littler pointed out.
The new world champion scored 180 on three darts in the final match as many as 23 times, while Littler bowled the highest possible score on thirteen occasions. Both players managed to close the leg with the highest possible “checkout” of 170 once during the duel.
On Thursday at 17.00 CET, the final composition of the prestigious Premier League for the year 2024 will be decided, in which Littler could be introduced for the first time in his career. His final opponent thinks that the English super talent deserves a place for his phenomenal performances: “I believe I will see him in it, it would be a pleasure for me to play next to him in the new season.”
Photo gallery for the article Number of photos: 10
- Author: © List/
- VIDEO: Twitter/PDC Darts
- Source: TASR, ČTK
2024-01-04 06:33:45
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