Teenage darting sensation Luke Littler opened his quest for a first PDC World Darts Championship title in spectacular fashion, breaking records and moving the crowd to tears in an electrifying 3-1 victory over Ryan Meikle at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Returning to the scene of his stunning run to the final 12 months ago, the 17-year-old prodigy showed exactly why he is the bookmakers’ favorite to go all the way this year. Littler has been in scintillating form in 2024, capturing 10 PDC titles including the prestigious Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts trophies.
Flirting With Perfection
The crowning moment of a pulsating encounter came in the fourth set, as Littler came within a double 12 of hitting the first nine-dart finish of this year’s tournament. The near-miss hardly fazed him, as he wrapped up the set in a blistering 32 darts.
His astonishing three-dart average for that set was a stratospheric 140.91 – a new record for the highest ever average across a single set at the PDC World Championship. The previous best of 136.32 was set by Michael van Gerwen back in 2016.
Wearing His Heart On His Sleeve
The magnitude of the moment was not lost on Littler. As the winning double 16 hit the board, the young star sunk to his knees, overcome with emotion. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke to the media after the match.
“As soon as the question came on stage, boom, the tears came. It was just a bit too much to speak on stage,” Littler said, his voice cracking. “It is the worst game I have played, I have never felt anything like that tonight.”
Despite his self-critical assessment, Littler showed tremendous grit and fighting spirit to get over the line against a dogged Meikle. He admitted he had to “pull it from somewhere” to produce his blistering burst in the final set.
Marching On
Littler’s reward for navigating this tricky opener is a third round clash with either Ritchie Edhouse or Ian White after the Christmas break. On this form, whoever he faces will have their work cut out to halt the teenager’s charge towards darting immortality.
Elsewhere on a dramatic opening night at Ally Pally, five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld suffered a shock 3-1 loss to world number 76 Nick Kenny. The Welshman was in tears himself after pulling off the biggest win of his career to date.
But the night belonged to Littler and his record-breaking exploits. If this is just the start, we could be in for something truly historic from the sport’s new superstar over the next two weeks. The darting world watches on in anticipation.
