Luke Littler One Step From History After World Masters Victory

Luke Littler triumphed over Luke Humphries in a thrilling last set decider to add yet another major title to his resume. The teenager has now won nine out of a possible 10 PDC major titles with only the European Championship needed to complete the sport at the age of 19.

It would’ve taken something special to top last year’s World Masters final between Johnny Clayton and Luke Humphries, but on an evening that promised so much, the two Lukes once again delivered on the big stage.

Last year it was Humphries who came out on top in a classic, but in a reverse of fortune, an astonishing 105 average over 11 sets wasn’t enough to retain his title. Earlier, in the semi-finals, the 30-year-old had looked unbeatable as he crushed Gian van Veen 5-0 with arguably the performance of the tournament.

An eye watering 107.80 average was more than enough to dispatch of the Dutchman as Humphries sought revenge for his World Championship defeat a month ago. The reigning champion was also heading into the final having not dropped a set all day. His quarter-final victory over Danny Noppert was a 4-0 win with another ton-plus average.

In contrast to this Luke Littler had been made to work hard for his spot in the closing act. While his eight 180’s was more than enough to beat Josh Rock in the quarterfinals, a much tighter contest followed against Gerwyn Price in the Semis.

The two darting titans have a history of exciting clashes against one another and this match was no different. Price went toe-to-toe with the Nuke as the pair traded sets right up until the decider. The Welshman was able to break Littler’s throw before missing a match dart at tops in the following leg.

This wasn’t the first match dart Luke Littler had survived either, in the first round Mike De Decker missed double 11 for a 3-1 win. But just has he had in his opening match of the tournament, Littler capitalised, finding double two before winning the last leg decider.

Those in Milton Keynes may have felt they had already seen the match of the night, but if history has taught us anything, when the two Lukes face off it’s never boring.

Littler, perhaps the more refreshed of the two having played his semi-final earlier, raced into 3-1 lead and looked good to make it a three-set cushion after breaking Humphries at the start of the fifth.

However, the reigning champion fought back in that set before reeling off three of the next four to take a 5-4 lead at the last break. Under immense pressure the Nuke was, once again, able to produce his best darts winning four legs on the spin and the match on his trademark double ten to claim the Winmau World Masters title for the very first time.

Luke Littler now holds seven out of a possible ten PDC major titles and is only missing the European Championships to complete the career set, an astonishing achievement for a man of his age.

The Premier League is now just a few days away and it so happens that Luke Humphries is currently the reigning champion. Whether Luke Littler will be able to make it eight is yet to be seen, but one thing is for certain, their rivalry is fast developing into one of the most entertaining battles darts has ever produced.