Breaking News: Luke Littler Reach World Darts Championship Final By Defeating Rob Cross
Luke Littler, 16, advanced to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship with a commanding victory against Rob Cross.
Playing in his first-ever global competition, Littler defeated Scott Williams 6-0 and will now take on Luke Humphries.
Littler, who has already made £200,000, has surpassed Kirk Shepherd, who was 21 years and 88 days old in 2008, to become the youngest contestant to reach the final.
“It is crazy to even think I am in the final on my debut,” he stated.
“I was happy to win one game, and now I can go all the way,” Littler said to Sky Sports. It’s not simple. You are controlling Rob, a world champion who triumphed in his first match. There are no words for me.”
When asked how he would be preparing for the final on Wednesday, Littler replied, “I’ll be doing what I’ve been doing.” I’ll get my ham and cheese omelette in the morning, come here, eat a pizza and then start working on the board. I’ve been doing that every day.”
Having made it to the final for the first time, Humphries is now the new world champion and will be Littler’s greatest challenger.
Littler’s run to the final
Round 1: Beat Christian Kist 3-0
Round 2: Beat Andrew Gilding (ranked 20) 3-1
Round 3: Beat Matt Campbell 4-1
Round 4: Beat five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld (28) 4-1
Quarter-final: Beat Brendan Dolan (29) 5-1
Semi-final: Beat 2018 PDC world champion Rob Cross (8) 6-2
Littler’s record run continues
As the two warmed up, the Alexandra Palace crowd serenaded Littler, who turns 17 on January 21, with songs like “there’s only one Luke Littler” and “walking in a Littler wonderland” resonating throughout the renowned amphitheatre.
Despite some early shaky and uneasy darts, Littler ultimately outscored 2018 winner Cross, 33, as many experts had projected.
His final three-dart average was 106.05, whereas Cross’ was 102.77.
Littler’s average of above 100 comes in this, the tournament’s fourth match. Chris Dobey has previously been eliminated three times; no other player has accomplished that.
Littler had a provisional rating of 50 going into the semi-finals of the competition, having begun it ranked 164th in the world. If he makes it through to Wednesday’s final, he may finish as high as eighth and get £500,000.
Before making his debut on December 20, he had only participated in four senior matches in PDC premier tournaments. Now that he has the chance to become the youngest tournament champion, he can overtake Michael van Gerwen, who was 24 years and nine months old when he won his maiden title in 2014.
Littler dropped the first set of the competition for the first time, but he bounced back to lead 3-1, including 142 in the third set.
After breaking Littler’s throw in the second set with a 138, Cross found it difficult to match his opponent’s high-scoring style of play as the 16-year-old claimed three straight sets to secure the win.
While Littler fired 16 maximums to Cross’s 10, the previous champion was particularly hurt by his accuracy at the checkout.
Littler’s checkout % was 64.7 at one point, whereas Cross’ was 34.8. By the end, that had narrowed to 46.8 and 41.7, but the Warrington teenager had created a margin that was too great.
Littler stated to Sky Sports, “I simply wanted to win my first-round game.” “I ignored the rumours that Christian Kist was having trouble recovering from an injury. Since I was aware that I was spending more time in London, my next goal was to return home for Christmas with my family. I succeeded in doing so, and now I find myself in the final.
“I’ve basically made myself at home there. I need a few legs to become comfortable before I can continue.
“There’s no more development tour for me now! I’m happy to be in the top 32 and I can go even higher.”
Humphries charges into final
Humphries is rapidly rising to the top of the global rankings after winning 18 straight games.
The 28-year-old has advanced to three World Championship quarterfinals, but prior to his quarterfinal, he had never averaged higher than 100 in this competition.
Against Williams, 33, he averaged 108.74, ranking in the top 10 in the tournament’s history, and he eliminated scores of 100 or higher six times.
“It feels incredible. Being the world’s top player is something I could never have anticipated,” Humphries said to Sky Sports.
“I was rather happy with that performance, especially because it was done with style. As I’ve stated many times in interviews, becoming the world champion lasts a lifetime, while being ranked first can only last a few months.
Humphries remarked of Littler, “I’ve seen the way he’s played many, many times, but it can be much tougher on this stage, but he’s just proven that he’s got a lot of bottle.”
“He won’t let anything phase him. I’ll most likely have to engage in a life-changing game.
“I’ve got an uphill task and hopefully we can give the people one of the best world finals ever seen.”
