Luke Littler celebrated becoming world number one for the first time by beating Luke Humphries, the man he has surpassed, to win the Grand Slam of Darts with a 16-11 victory in Wolverhampton.
The world champion’s 16-9 victory over the Netherlands’ Danny Noppert in the semi-final meant he would overtake Humphries to top the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world rankings regardless of the result of Sunday evening’s final.
But Littler emphasised his ascension to the world darts summit as he surged to victory by winning 10 of the last 13 legs against his great rival to retain the title – and stay unbeaten in the Grand Slam.
At just 18, Littler is the youngest PDC world number one, surpassing Michael van Gerwen, who achieved the feat aged 24 in 2014.
“I am the best in the world, I can finally say it,” Littler said after the final.
“World number one, you are the best in the world. To top it off by going back-to-back here makes it even more special.
“Now I’m number one, I’m hungry to stay there. I want to be there for the next few years.
“There’s going to be a target on my back from Luke and all the other players. It’s made me more hungry.”
The final ebbed and flowed, with Littler quickly going 2-0 up before Humphries won four on the spin to lead 4-2.
Humphries retained the edge until a brilliant 167 checkout saw ‘The Nuke’ break back for 8-8.
The decisive moment came with Littler leading 10-9 when Humphries, well in control of the leg, chose to go for a 170 out, missed and then fluffed his set-up on his next visit.
That gave Littler a glimmer of hope with a 160 finish. He made no mistake to go 11-9 up and never looked back.
Littler’s earnings over the two-year period that determine the Order of Merit totalled 1
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