Luke Littler vs Luke Humphries LIVE: Teenage sensation slips to defeat in World Darts Championship final

Teenager Luke Littler is just one match away from completing an extraordinary triumph.

The 16-year-old was in irresistable form in his semi-final win over former champion Rob Cross and is now bidding to become world champion on debut at Alexandra Palace to complete a fairytale sporting story.

Standing in his way is the new world No. 1.

Luke Humphries climbed to the top of the world rankings with a 6-0 thrashing of Scott Williams yesterday but nan the pre-tournament favourite dash Littler’s teenage dream?

Darts has never been a game embarrassed by hyperbole. Remember the commentator Sid Waddell’s eulogy about the serial world champion Phil Taylor when he won yet another title?

“If we’d had Phil Taylor at Hastings against the Normans, they’d have gone home,” Waddell suggested.

Or there’s his somewhat overwrought description of another multiple-winner, Eric Bristow. “When Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer… Bristow’s only 27.”

But the assertion this week by Barry Hearn, the grand impresario of the game, that Luke Littler is the Tiger Woods of darts is perhaps the most exaggerated in a crowded field of arrows overstatement. Not least because as yet, unlike Woods who stands second in the all-time list of golf major winners, the 16-year-old from Warrington has yet to win anything.

Luke Littler has been “smashing them all to bits” on the dartboard since the age of nine.

Littler’s incredible run to the World Championship final at the age of 16 has transcended events on the oche and shocked the entire sporting world, but not St Helens Darts Academy co-founder Karl Holden.

Even esteemed French sports publication L’Equipe, a title not known for its darts coverage, devoted space to hail the teenage sensation after his semi-final demolition of former world champion Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday evening.

Teenage star Luke Littler will stick with his diet of cheese and ham omelettes and pizza as he tries to complete his history-making World Championship dream.

The 16-year-old debutant continued his amazing Alexandra Palace journey by becoming the youngest-ever finalist when he destroyed 2018 champion Rob Cross in the semi-final. He is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, with new world No 1 Luke Humphries now standing in his way.

Littler has made history with some unconventional preparations, with his love of kebabs also a theme of his run to the final, but it is working for him.

Luke Littler’s teenage dream concludes when he faces Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on Wednesday evening.

Here is a look at how the players match up:

Rapid rises

Humphries’ formidable display against Williams in the semi-final saw him climb to the top of the world rankings, leapfrogging Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith. It is reward for his stunning form over the last couple of months, where he won his first major titles. His rise has been rapid, but Littler’s has been meteoric.

The teen headed into the tournament ranked 164 in the world but is already up to 31st. If he can get over the line in the final, he will climb into the top 10.

Luke Littler’s teenage dream concludes when he faces Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on Wednesday evening.

Here is a look at how the players match up:

Unbeaten streaks

Both players are in supreme form and are on long unbeaten streaks. Humphries is the form player in the world and extended his winning run to 18 when he beat Williams to reach the final. It was October 29 when ‘Cool Hand’ last lost, going down to James Wade in the European Championship. He won the Players Championship a week later, which was his third major title in six weeks.

Littler is also used to winning and is unbeaten in 21 matches going back to August in PDC events, which included him winning the World Youth Championship.

Luke Littler’s teenage dream concludes when he faces Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on Wednesday evening.

Here is a look at how the players match up:

Big scoring

The teenager created history in his first-round win over Christian Kist by recording the highest average of a debutant at the World Championship and that set the tone for a high-scoring performance.

Littler’s three-dart tournament average is 101.82, he has thrown 50 180s and crucially is operating at a 45 per cent success rate on checkouts.

Humphries’ average is slightly down at 99.33, but he has also thrown a half-century of maximums and has taken out 41 per cent of his double attempts.

Luke Littler’s teenage dream concludes when he faces Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on Wednesday evening.

The 16-year-old is the youngest ever player to reach the decider in a remarkable Alexandra Palace journey, but he will face the toughest test yet against the new world number one.

Here is a look at how the players match up:

Routes to final

The pair have had differing journeys to the final. Despite his tender years, Littler has had the most serene path, dropping just six sets.

He proved he is already at a level to compete with the very best as he took out UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, walloped five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and then beat 2018 title winner Rob Cross in stunning fashion.

Humphries’ route has been a little rockier as he was taken to a final-set decider against Ricardo Pietreczko in the third round and then needed a sudden-death leg to beat Joe Cullen in the fourth.

He looks to be coming into form just at the right time, though, as he whitewashed Scott Williams 6-0 in the semi-final, producing the 10th best three-dart average ever at the Alexandra Palace, with six 100+ checkouts.

Teenage sensation Luke Littler is seen throwing darts while still in nappies as the player shared an old family video.

The 16-year-old, who has captured the hearts of fans around the world with his performances so far at Alexandra Palace, is seen in the family video throwing darts at the board.

The footage of Littler when he was just 18 months old is believed to have been taken by his mother in 2008, and was shared by the player on his Instagram page.

As well as the Sid Waddell Trophy, there is £2.5m in prize money on offer for the World Darts Championship with the champion netting a cool £500,000.

The runner-up earns a cool £200,000 while semi-finalists will pocket £100,000 each and those that reach the quarter-finals winning £50,000.

Fourth-round and third-round losers earn themselves £35,000 and £25,000 respectively while there is £15,000 on offer for the 32 players knocked out in the second round and the 32 first-round losers will take away £7,500.