Luke Littler ‘biggest darts participant ever’ claims Luke Humphries as ace wins World Masters
Luke Littler has won the World Masters for the first time after a thrilling final against Luke Humphries, but had to survive a match dart against Gerwyn Price earlier in the day
Luke Littler celebrates with the Winmau World Masters trophy (Image: Morgan Harlow, Getty Images)
Luke Littler triumphed over Luke Humphries to clinch the World Masters title – with his rival branding him the “greatest darts player ever”.
The 19-year-old prodigy entered the competition in Milton Keynes as the Saudi Arabian Masters champion. Despite winning his second World Championship less than a month ago, Littler was eager to secure the title in Milton Keynes, which comes with a first prize of £100,000.
He has claimed most of the major ranking titles in darts, but the World Masters remained elusive in his growing collection. Throughout the competition at the Arena MK, the World No. 1 was far from his best. He survived a match dart to defeat Mike De Dekker in the round of 16 and another one in his semi-final face-off with Gerwyn Price.
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Meanwhile, Littler’s familiar adversary Humphries, the defending champion, appeared nearly invincible throughout the tournament. He whitewashed World No 3, reports the Express, and World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen an hour before his showdown with Littler.
Throughout his brief yet historic career, Littler has excelled in longer formats. However, the World Masters’ rapid set-play, where two legs are enough to win a set, threatened to be his downfall on several occasions.
Last year, it tripped him up when he was defeated by Jonny Clayton. Against Price, he showed vulnerability, missing 24 shots at a double before finally defeating the Welshman in a nail-biting final set. However, against Humphries, he seemed transformed, achieving a 153 checkout and two 121 finishes.
Humphries, too, was delivering world-class darts throughout the competition, including scoring a nine-darter in his victory over Luke Woodhouse earlier in the tournament. When Littler clinched the fourth set to make it 3-1, the 2023 World Champion won four of the next five sets to take a 5-4 lead.
Just as Cool Hand looked poised to secure his first final victory over Littler since last year’s Premier League, Littler regained focus and won the next two sets, securing the title and the £100,000 prize with his favourite double 10.
After the match, Littler confessed that he was rapidly running out of energy. He said: “I’m shattered, absolutely knackered. Going into the last break 5-4 down, I said I have nothing left.
“I dug deep. I was fully focused and got the job done. It has been a weird week, tough at times, but this is how we battled. Me and Luke in the first major of the year, I am sure it will continue throughout the year.”
Beaten finalist Humphries told ITV4: “You look back on the whole game. It’s hard to pick holes in it. It’s only the three at double top [he missed].
“That’s the pressure he puts you under. He has shown that through class. He never folds under pressure. I think he’s the greatest darts player who has ever lived.”
