Luke Littler retains World Grand Slam vs Luke Humphries after changing into World No.1

Only a couple of hours had passed since Luke Humphries had been dethroned at the top of the world rankings when he was dealt another blow.

Cool Hand reigned over the darting world back in 2023, winning the Grand Prix, Grand Slam and Players Championship en route to a date with destiny at the Ally Pally.

Luke Littler wasn’t a household name back then, but in a whirlwind three weeks, he was suddenly the talk of the nation as he clashed with Humphries in the final of the World Darts Championship.

It’s been Littler’s world ever since – and, on Sunday, he finally moved above Cool Hand in the world rankings before beating him to win the Grand Slam.

Littler was exceptional in Wolverhampton, becoming the first man to retain the Grand Slam since Gerwyn Price in 2019 – remaining unbeaten in the tournament.

Littler had raced out of the blokes, but he was pegged back and passed by Humphries, who came within millimeter’s of winning five legs on the spin.

However, Littler is Littler and he started to click into gear as the match turned into endurance darts.

The Nuke is almost unbeatable over long format games – and every time Humphries was able to create some breathing room, Littler produced some magic to bring Cool Hand back.

Twice, he almost took out a nine-darter, there was an incredible 160 finish – following by the roar of a champion and a sheepish look at his opponent.

He raced to the finishing line, refusing to take his foot off the accelerator as Humphries accepted his fate.

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