23 May 2024 , 20:38
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Luke Littler hit a perfect nine-dart finish as he won his first Premier League crown, beating Luke Humphries 11-7 in the final.
The 17-year-old took on a familiar foe in Humphries, who beat him the World Championship final, at the O2 in hope of winning his first television title.
Littler booked his place in the final after overwhelming Michael Smith in the first match of the evening. Bully Boy had a good recent record against Littler, but it quickly became apparent there would be no repeat.
After running out to a 7-2 lead over his opponent, Littler finished the job and secured safe passage with a routine 10-5 victory, averaging more than a hundred in the process.
It was similarly plain sailing for world champion Humphries, who thrashed the reigning Premier League champ Michael van Gerwen 10-5. That result ensured that for just the fourth time since the tournament’s inception, two debutants would go head to head in the final
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Littler earned the darts prior to the final and managed to hold them to win the opener, before the players exchanged breaks in a nervy start. The match remained on throw, but Littler had a chance to poke his nose in front in the eighth leg, only for Humphries to fire in a brilliant 116 finish.
But with the scores at 5-5 coming out of the break, Littler turned the match on its head with a stunning perfect leg of darts. After firing in two maximums, Littler checked out 141 to lift the roof off the O2.
Luke Humphries congratulates Premier League champion Luke LittlerAnd rather than rest on his laurels, Littler put his foot down to race into at 8-5 lead and just three away from the title. Humphries steadied the ship to get it back to 9-7, but failed to break him in the 17th leg to leave him on the brink. And he won the biggest tournament of his career so far with a nerveless double 20.
Immediately after lifting the trophy, Littler turned the crowd and shouted: "One thing I want to say - for all the doubters, hello! I have just picked up this, you are not doubting me anymore."
He then added: "I have really enjoyed it. I have been practising really hard - you could probably see on the oche how focussed I was. All the hard work goes into this.
"I am a major winner now. I will go to New York next week and then have a week off in Orlando."
The showpiece match was the perfect culmination, with the competition's best two players over the marathon 17 weeks facing off. Littler finished his first season in the Premier League as the league phase leader, narrowly edging out Humphries.
Littler embraces his girlfriend after winning at the O2 ArenaThe Nuke burst onto the scene at the end of 2022, when at the age of 16, he made it all the way to the World Championship final at the Alexandra Palace, losing to Humphries. He has since earned wins on the main tour, including the Bahrain Masters and two tournaments on the European Tour.
But this is unquestionably his biggest achievement, banking a whopping £315,000 in the process as well. Speaking after the victory, former Prem champion and Sky commentator Glen Durrant said: "One of the greatest finals I have ever seen and what a Premier League.
"What a moment for Luke Littler, sharing that invaluable moment with his family, something they will remember for the rest of their lives."
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Vanquished finalist, Humphries said: "I was trying to stick in there but there was a big breeze coming through the stage all evening, which is so hard to deal with. That's credit to Luke. He managed it so well all night.
"After the break he played much better. He's a fantastic player, he really is. Me and Luke are the two greatest players in the world right now. I love playing him and we're going to have a lot of battles in the future.
"If you look at the season as a whole he deserves to win the Premier League."