The Englishman Luke Littler could become the youngest champion in darts history at the 32nd Darts World Championship.
Source: dpa
It jerked briefly and a sentence was even lost. But in the end, Luke Littler did what all darts fans hope he would do – and maybe a little more. Because the confident 3-1 over outsider Ryan Meikle ended the shooting star with a demonstration of his skills.
In the last set, Littler hit six and then eight perfect darts. The youngster failed by just millimeters to conjure up a nine-darter on the board at his start at the 32nd World Darts Championship – the most spectacular and rarest way to bring a game down to zero.
Ten tournament wins in his debut year
A year ago, the then 16-year-old's surprising triumph only ended in the final. Now it would be even more of a sensation if Littler not only made it through the tournament again, but also became the youngest champion in darts history in the final on January 3rd.
The Englishman made a huge impact in his debut season with the professionals. The exceptional talent has won ten Professional Darts Corporation competitions, including three major tournaments: Grand Slam of Darts, World Series of Darts Finals and even the Premier League. He managed four nine-darters during the season – the fifth on Saturday would have been a record.
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Compare with the legendary Phil Taylor
Of course, Littler's game isn't perfect, he has bad days and remains beatable. Comparisons with Phil Taylor are premature, even if he has long since achieved the prominence of a darts legend.
At prime time at Alexandra Palace, Taylor hymns were rewritten for the young hero: “Littler Wonderland,” for example, echoed through the “Ally Pally.”
Getting from 501 points to 0 with the minimum number of nine arrows (nine-darters) is considered a perfect game in darts.
Climbed in the world rankings
Because little bad days are becoming rarer. And he offers a good darts at the top level: blatant point averages; strong quotes on the double fields, high finishes. The fact that he likes to choose risky paths to his goal is interpreted as arrogance. But these variants are normal for the instinctive thrower and a great show for the fans.
In just one year, Littler has earned a good 745.00 euros in bonuses and has moved up to fourth place in the “Order of Merit”. Absolutely remarkable, especially since the money rankings, which are also the world rankings, summarize the most recent two seasons for most others.
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A kind of pop star in England
Littler has established himself among the world's best in a very short space of time – with perseverance, focus and grit. He has everything to survive in the traveling darts circuit. Littler plays skillfully with the audience and knows how to deal with provocation – for example when he is booed as a Man United fan in Liverpool.
The crazy hype surrounding him has left the youngster cold so far. Even as a teenager, the fast food fan is the image of the typical darts player. In England, the young normal guy has become something of a pop star. He is followed by 1.3 million people on Instagram. He is the athlete with the most searches on Google. He has well-known sponsors.
Ricardo Pietreczko a possible opponent
The number of English children wanting to learn darts has gone through the roof since his World Cup debut. Throwing arrows is suddenly cool. The first darts board at the age of four, the first “180” at the age of six, training with daddy in the pub at the age of eight: Littler’s CV – if the legend is true – could serve as a template for copying.
Not that he needed it, but on the way to the final, other top stars avoided Littler. On the other hand, from a German perspective, Ricardo Pietreczko could look forward to a duel with the World Cup co-favorite. To do this, however, he would have to reach the quarter-finals.
Source: Reuters
