We call him Luke the Nuke, the nuclear bomb. Young darts prodigy, Luke Littler lived up to his reputation on Friday January 3, by winning his first world champion title in front of a heated crowd in the Alexandra Palace arena in London.
At the start of the evening, the 17-year-old athlete arrives on the platform lit by Vesuvius fireworks. The audience sings in chorus “There is only one Luke Littler” taking up the melody of « Winter Wonderland » by Bing Cosby. Littler barely cracks a smile, letting the tension that drives him show through.
This did not prevent him from easily winning the first four sets against the three-time Dutch world champion Michael van Gerwen, 35 years old. A first half of the game during which the two dart throwers do not appear to be in their right mood, multiplying the missed opportunities. It is only from the fifth set that they wake up, passing the baton to win the sets – the « legs »according to official terminology.
The cheering crowd is doused in beer
As audience members – now standing with their arms in the air – launch into an a cappella version of « Seven Nation Army »the informal sports anthem of the White Stripes, Luke Littler and Michael Van Gerwen begin their tenth set. Dominant since the start of the match, the player from Runcorn, in the north of England, leads 6-3 and places a dart outside the target, narrowly missing victory.
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