Luke Littler admits he ‘could not consider’ Grand Slam of Darts growth as teen eyes win

Luke Littler has admitted he couldn’t believe Luke Humphries crashed out of the Grand Slam of Darts.

Littler, 17, turned on the style on Tuesday evening, playing up the role of showman as he cruised past Lourence Ilagan 5-3 in his final group match. The Runcorn-born sensation has lined himself up as the favourite to take title in Wolverhampton on Sunday.

And he received another boost when current World No.1 and defending World Champion Humphries crashed out in the group stage. “I just couldn’t believe it,” Littler admitted when asked about the Leeds fan, who finished third in his group behind James Wade and Mickey Mansell.

“I thought he would have gone through, but obviously now I’ve just got to focus on myself, and hopefully, I’ll win the next game.”

“I was relaxed. I knew I had qualified. The important thing was to win and go three out of three in the group. I felt dead relaxed and enjoyed that.”

Littler almost nailed a record breaking nine-darter on Tuesday evening – but he missed the double 12, that would have raised the roof: “I know if I do hit another one then it’s a record. I know if I play well, I can feel it coming. It didn’t go then – I’ll try again next time.

“I did quite a lot with the crowd because I knew I was through but in the next round I’ll need to focus on the game. I’ll always get the crowd involved. I just thought to myself, ‘Let’s have some fun’.”

Littler is now set to clash with Grand Prix Champion Mike De Decker on Thursday as the knockout rounds start ahead of Sunday’s final.