Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Friday January 3, 2025 at 11:15 p.m.
Beaten by Luke Humphries last year in his first world championship final in his first participation, Luke Littler dominated Michael van Gerwen (7-3) head and shoulders to become the youngest player to win the title.
One year to learn, another to dominate. Luke Littler has learned his lesson from his defeat in the PDC World Darts Championship final to Luke Humphries last year. “The Nuke” (the nuclear weapon), at just 17 years old, became this Sunday in the furnace of Alexandra Palace the youngest player to win the world title. For this, he was head and shoulders above sporting legend Michael van Gerwen, who held the record for precocity in this area. A final contested in the best of seven rounds that the Englishman knew how to start in the best possible way. Putting his opponent under pressure, he broke him in the first game despite the maximum score of 180 reached by the Dutchman, which brought him closer to the conclusion. An advantage that Luke Littler was able to maintain to pocket a well-conducted first round. If he appeared tense at the start of the tournament, notably with a round of 16 against his compatriot Ryan Joyce won at the end of the suspense, the native of Runcorn appeared in full control of his game against a Michael van Gerwen below his standards. habits. Which resulted in a second round won dryly by Luke Littler in just three games. Keeping his opponent’s head underwater, the Englishman pocketed the third round without trembling before doing it again in the fourth.
Littler never let Van Gerwen breathe
With his back to the wall, “Mighty Mike” took advantage of a break before the start of the fifth set to refocus. Which resulted in a return to form and a first break to unlock his counter. The final was then balanced with the sixth round which was decided in a decisive game. Taking advantage of the service, Luke Littler took the opportunity to get a little closer to the trophy. But we had to count on Michael van Gerwen not to give up, he who was aiming for a fourth crown after those acquired in 2014, 2017 and 2019. The same scenario as in the sixth round was experienced in the seventh, i.e. “MVG” who take advantage of the assistance to further reduce the gap. Not wanting to see his opponent regain confidence, Luke Littler once again raised his voice to come back three games from victory thanks to the authoritarian victory in the eighth round. A final burst from Michael van Gerwen helped prolong the suspense but it did not last very long. Uncompromising when it came to sealing the fate of this final, “The Nuke” missed two darts of the match but the third was the right one on a double 16. Growing in strength over the three weeks of competition, Luke Littler ended the tournament with a demonstration (7-3) to get his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy and confirm that he was the talent of a generation, winning his tenth title on the PDC circuit in the last twelve months. A tournament which saw the only Frenchman in the running, Thibault Tricole, eliminated in the second round by Luke Humphries.
For Latest Updates Follow us on Google News
