It was a set from the Gods which saw Luke Littler secure his first win of this year’s World Darts Championship. Two 11-darters and one 10-darter in which only the width of a wire prevented perfection, adding up to a barely-believable 140.91 average for a new record. Et voilà: victory.
But then, on another night of drowsy darts at Alexandra Palace came the sobering reminder of what we were really watching: a 17-year-old. Littler broke down in tears as his televised interview on Sky Sports was abandoned live. He exited the stage in search of an embrace from mum, Lisa.
He showed why this is no mechanical throwing machine programmed to be the next Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. Prodigy, yes, but impervious to the pressure that can make mere mortals of us all? Certainly not.
It was less than an hour after all this occurred that Littler sat down in a side room of Ally Pally in the presence of Mail Sport to discuss what had happened.
Amid that conversation arrived another nudge that this is merely a kid being beamed into the nation’s living rooms, as he explained his excitement at discovering what he will be ripping open on Christmas morning.
‘I don’t know,’ he said with a smile when asked if he knows what his parents have bought the lad with arrow in hand and world at feet. ‘I don’t even like saying it, but the money I have earned, I haven’t asked for anything. My mum and dad said they have got me something. I’ll be grateful but I haven’t asked for anything.’ After a pause, he added: ‘Almost got everything.’
Luke Littler defeated Ryan Meikle on his return to the World Darts Championships on Saturday
The 17-year-old wasn’t at his all-conquering best but he still managed to get through his tie
After securing his place in the third round of the competition Littler was overcome with emotion
That was a nod to the world crown, of course, though Littler was made to work to overcome Ryan Meikle, the 28-year-old Englishman nicknamed ‘The Barber’ owing to his other profession.
The eventual winner of this tournament will take home £500,000, with Littler having already made more than £1million in prize money after breaking through.
He continued on this contest with Meikle: ‘When I was leading up to it, I was perfectly fine, then it was “game on” and the bottom’s gone, it fell out. I didn’t know what to do with myself. You have got to focus on yourself and I did.
‘Throughout the year, it has been fine. Against Michael (van Gerwen) at the Matchplay, it wasn’t nerves, he was just the better player. Tonight was something different.’
Herein lies a lesson for all of us to learn. We rock up at Ally Pally in fancy dress and clutching our 180 cards, practically demanding that this teenager delivers on Littlermania, when, actually, he is not even old enough to drink champagne out of the 10 PDC trophies he has won in the Ally Pally build-up.
‘I know myself, I am 17, I do what a 17-year-old boy does,’ Littler added before returning to this experience with Meikle. ‘That was something else. I know from now on, I am going to stop myself getting nerves. I will think to myself, “I don’t need to be nervous now, I am through to the third round.” Before George Noble (the referee) said, “game on”, I was throwing 180s (in practice), then it was low 20s, low fives, low 19s. I pulled it out of the bag.’
The conversation then turned to that fourth and final set, in which he beat the previous average record of 136.64 set by Gerwyn Price. First leg: 180, 180, 81, 60. Second leg: 180, 180, 129, 12. Third leg: 139, 174, 136, 52.
Average: 140.91. Asked if he can better that, Littler said: ‘If I hit a nine, maybe. That last set, I wasn’t even thinking of the average. I roughly know the average for a single leg of darts, 110.40 or something.
Littler admitted he had suddenly been overcome with nerves when the match got underway
‘I was just thinking about getting over the line. I know what I can produce, I know what I have produced all year, the best darts of my life.
‘The experience has been absolutely amazing. I don’t think I can get more experienced as it comes.’
Thousands of youngsters will find themselves opening child-friendly dartboards from Santa on Christmas, all down to the Littler surge.
‘I don’t know how much Target (his sponsors) have let go to the likes of Argos, I know Smyths have done an awful lot,’ Littler said. ‘I am the only one to bring out a magnetic board. As a youngster it was always the thing I used.
‘When I was younger and I got some FIFA points, I’d be absolutely on it all day, but now, I know a lot of them will be on the magnetic boards. There will be a lot of darts thrown on Christmas Day.’
By yourself also? ‘I won’t be playing on Christmas Day, no!’