Luke Littler puts on masterclass to win Grand Slam of Darts: ‘Just different gravy’

The 17-year-old lost the first two legs of the final but then reeled off 15 in a row before sealing a 16-3 victory

Pa Sport Staff
Sunday 17 November 2024 16:25 EST
Comments
Luke Littler, pictured, thrashed Martin Lukeman (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Luke Littler, pictured, thrashed Martin Lukeman (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Teenager Luke Littler overpowered qualifier Martin Lukeman to win the Grand Slam of Darts on his tournament debut.

The 17-year-old lost the first two legs of the final but then reeled off 15 in a row before sealing a 16-3 victory, his first major ranking title and the first prize of £150,000.

Littler, who hit 12 180s and averaged 107.08 in a ruthless display, told Sky Sports: “I’m just so glad to win it.

“I’ve been playing well all week long, it’s been a long week but it’s paid off and I’m so happy to win this.

“I’ve always got to have my scoring power with me, no matter who I play, it’s got to be there. I can’t afford to drop off in any legs. I had a slow start but I kicked on from there.

“I knew coming into the tournament that if I did get my hands on the trophy I’d be up to number five in the world.

“Number five in the space of 10 months, there’s still two more ranking tournaments to go so hopefully I can go a bit higher than five.”

He’s just different gravy. He’s brilliant isn’t he?

Martin Lukeman on Luke Littler

Lukeman was full of praise for Littler after seeing his remarkable run come to an end in Wolverhampton.

“He’s just different gravy. He’s brilliant isn’t he?” the world number 45 said.

“He’s done great for the PDC, done great for the sport, all the new fans, the sponsorships.”

Littler had earlier overturned a four-leg deficit to beat Gary Anderson 16-15 in a thrilling semi-final.

Anderson hit finishes of 164, 142, 124 and 102 as he opened up a 13-9 lead, but Littler stormed back to win seven of the last nine legs.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in