Luke Littler triumphs at the Grand Slam of Darts. The new world number one defeats his great rival Luke Humphries in the final.
Luke Littler – the new king of darts – has also triumphed at the Grand Slam of Darts and won his eighth major title.
In a high-class final against Luke Humphries, Littler prevailed with 16:11 in legs.
Luke Littler is still unbeaten at the Grand Slam of Darts
Littler: “It was a strange game”
“It was a strange game for me. But it was always clear that it would be a close game. I was actually behind for a long time. The game changer was the 20th leg,” said Littler after the match.
It was already the sixth major final between the two Englishmen, Littler leveled in these to 3:3 in triumphs. The spectators in Wolverhampton were offered a lot. From niggles to brilliant high finishes, everything was there.
Littler played a three-dart average of 100.61 points in the final, Humphries landed at 99.56 points. The youngster was also marginally better than his opponent in the checkout rate (41.03 percent versus 37.93 percent).
Curious moment about Littler and Humphries
For a long time, the two superstars delivered a duel at eye level. In the 16th leg, Littler then provided a real highlight and checked the second-highest finish (167 points) to equalize at 8:8.
In the 19th leg, “The Nuke” almost topped it and missed the 9-darter only by a hair’s breadth. After seven perfect darts, he narrowly missed the triple-17 with the eighth dart.
And the 18-year-old became stronger and stronger, checking 160 points to 11:9. Littler then had to smile, Humphries also started laughing and teasing Littler. In the 25th leg, Littler threw six perfect darts again, but this time missed a possible 9-darter with the seventh dart.
Littler and Humphries provide a curious final moment
Darts: Littler dethrones Humphries
With that, he dethrones Luke Humphries, who had been the world number one since his World Championship title in January 2024.
On stage, Littler reacted to his great milestone after the semi-final: “I’m not even two years on the tour and now the number one in the world. I’m the best in the world.”
Littler takes home £153,500 in prize money
Littler also triumphed in the final against his great rival. As the winner, he takes home £153,500 in prize money. For Humphries, £73,500 remains. The 30-year-old Humphries was already looking for a fight after the defeat. “I will win the World Championship,” he said.
The next highlight is the Darts World Championship at Alexandra Palace in London (December 11 to January 3, live on SPORT1 ).
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