Precocious darts prodigy Luke Littler bursts out of the cannon and onto the world stage.
Littler, just 16, lost seven to Luke Humphries in the World Darts Championship final at North London's Alexandra Palace (known as Ally Pally among the darts world's rowdy fans) on Wednesday. We lost by -4.
The youngest champion on record is Michael van Gerwen, who won the event in 2014 at the age of 24, capping a remarkable run. The previous youngest runner-up was Kirk Shepherd, who was 21 years old when he lost in the final in 2008.
Littler, known as 'The Nuke', will take home £200,000 ($253,000) in prize money, while Humphries' first prize is £500,000 ($633,000). According to the Daily Mail.
Littler's rise was surprising to the public, but in some ways he was prepared for this fate.
A video that went viral early in the tournament shows Littler throwing darts when he was only 18 months old.
Another photo posted by Littler's mother, Lisa, last July shows the family taking the first time Littler hit a bullseye.
By the age of three, Littler was imitating the celebrations of his idol Raymond van Barneveld.
In a truly surreal moment, Littler defeated Van Barneveld, now 56, in the round of 16 of the tournament.
Littler reportedly got his first dartboard at the age of 4 and has been winning adult tournaments since he was 14, starting with the 2021 Irish Open and earning his first title at the British Open, Modus.・He has also won the Super Series (twice) and the Romanian tournament. Open and Gibraltar Open” According to the Daily Mail.
His personality has earned him a cult following even outside of dartboarding. Choose a celebratory doner kebab after your victoryI ate a ham and cheese omelet and pizza before the game.
Originally built in the 1870s, Ally Pally has a capacity for over 2,500 people and began hosting the World Darts Championship in 2007. According to the BBC.
The crowd was enthusiastic, and if you close your eyes and watch the video of the tournament, it's easy to imagine the constant chanting at an English Premier League match.
Unsuspecting parents told the message board what happened at the scene.
“We went to Ally Pally before Christmas to go to the theater to see A Christmas Carol.It was in a different location, but we were on the same train as the darts audience. I was disappointed that I rode,” posted by edwinbear on mumsnet.com wrote on Wednesday's forum..
“The behavior was absolutely shocking. A large group of adults, already completely wasted, dressed up as ketchup and mustard bottles, Beefeaters and traffic cones, were drinking cans of beer, shouting and jeering. , was singing a song.”
One of the former champions, Gerwyn Price, Join Sky Sports He almost skipped this year's tournament because he was “a little nervous” that the crowd would be rooting for him, but he overcame his concerns and found the crowd to be more accepting of him this year. He said he was relieved.
Fans are understandably very fond of Littler, chanting at him, “I have school in the morning!” After winning.
