'I want to dominate' - Littler takes another step towards greatness

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Luke Littler lost just four sets across his seven matches as he successfully defended the PDC world title

BySam Drury

BBC Sport journalist at Alexandra Palace

Luke Littler has conquered the world of darts. Again.

If last year was Littler proving he could do it, this year was the 18-year-old showing he could not be stopped.

It was domination from first to last. Just four sets dropped across the entire tournament, with any perceived blips or wobbles not really worthy of the name.

Littler's demolition job on Gian van Veen was his final flourish, his masterpiece at a World Championship in which he made brilliance look effortless.

Unstoppable. That was the word put to him time and again as he sat patiently, Sid Waddell Trophy in tow, at his post-final news conference.

Littler would not bite. "At times, I am unstoppable" was as close as he came to accepting it.

Well, with two world titles and a final defeat in three visits to Alexandra Palace, and 10 major titles to his name already, it seems those times come pretty frequently.

"It's what dreams are made of," Littler said.

"Nothing will ever beat a first world title - for anyone, in any sport, because that's the first time you've done it. But this was all about retaining it.

"To go back-to-back feels amazing."

The bad news for his competitors is he is only just getting started.

His hunger for success has not diminished and winning is certainly not getting old for the teenager.

"I want to dominate everything, I want to try to win everything," he said.

How does Littler match up to previous champions?

If it was ever in doubt before this World Championship, Littler has emphatically proven he is the best player on the planet right now.

The scale of his achievements over his first two years on the main PDC tour also put him on par, if not above, a whole host of darts greats.

Only Phil Taylor, with 14, and Michael van Gerwen, on three, have won more PDC world titles than Littler, who is also just the fourth player to triumph in successive years.

Gary Anderson was the previous person to do so in 2015 and 2016 and, remarkably, Littler has already won more major PDC titles both than the 55-year-old Scot and Adrian Lewis, who won consecutive world titles in 2011 and 2012.

All of this before his 19th birthday.

Eric Bristow was 23 when he won his second BDO world title - a year after his first - while Van Gerwen, at 24, was the youngest winner of the PDC crown before Littler came along.

Given Taylor was 31 when he claimed his second of 16 total world titles and 34 before he clinched his first in the PDC, Littler is well ahead of the game - especially when you consider "The Power" won his last aged 52.

Whether you can imagine Littler still playing at the 2060 World Championship is another matter but it is most certainly possible, making overhauling Taylor's record seem a real possibility.

"It's so far away, 14 to go. Another 15 or 16 years, I'd say..." Littler joked.

"I think I could [beat Taylor's record] if I stay around long enough and keep the hunger.

"But like Michael van Gerwen says, once the hunger goes there's no point playing - but there's a lot of hunger left inside me.

"If it happens, it happens. I'll be around for a very long time and I'm here to win. If I get five or six, I'll be happy."

Littler is already eyeing Taylor's record of 3,343 days as world number one.

"I have got a lot of years left in me in the sport. There's loads I want to do," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I am here at the top and I want to stay at the top for as long as possible. When I turned number one there was a list of world number ones.

"Phil Taylor was up there for thousands and thousands of days, so I want to go on and try and break his record for the amount of days at world number one.

"We will see what we can do."

Littler is winning in style as well, with his 106.02 average the sixth-highest in a PDC world final and the highest since 2018.

Once again, it is Taylor who sets the benchmark with a ludicrous 110.94 in his 2009 win over Raymond van Barneveld, and "The Power" has another two of the three above Littler.

But "The Nuke" is more than capable of matching such numbers.

"It's a ridiculous standard that he continues to do," five-time World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle told Sky Sports.

"His tournament average was 104 and if you just imagine someone doing that every game and the standard you have to play at to beat that.

"When he has this 'off' game, he had one that was a 97 average, that is what we're getting at. That is how 'badly' he has played that game and it's still world class.

"He's a magnificent talent and right up there with Taylor and Van Gerwen."

Littler's domination has only ever been matched by Taylor and Van Gerwen in their primes, but whereas the former's spell as the undisputed number one lasted two decades, the latter's was much shorter.

"When Adrian Lewis won in 2011 and 2012, you were thinking that he was going to win another three, four or five," Mardle added.

"You don't know when all of this stops, no-one does. You never know when this ends.

"This is the thing about professional sport - he may have peaked, I don't think so. You never know, so this is why this is so special."

Celebrating with pizza and plans for £1m prize money

Littler has previously spoken about his love of kebabs and celebrated past wins with the takeaway treat.

But he told BBC Radio 5 Live he marked Saturday's triumph by buying about £150 worth of pizza.

Asked what he will do with the £1m tournament prize money, Littler said: "I said yesterday I can't buy a new car with it. I am going to have to get a year on the insurance before changing that one.

"Maybe after Bahrain and the Saudi Arabia Masters - for the World Series - I will be in Dubai for three or four nights, so I will treat myself in Dubai."

Future looks bright as new generation shines

However Littler decides to celebrate - and whether he can maintain his position as the Taylor-esque ruler of the sport or not - the future of darts appears to be in good hands.

With an 18-year-old taking on a 23-year-old for a combined age of 41, this year's was the youngest world final in the sport's history.

Littler is a phenomenon but Van Veen was playing at the same level right up until the final - and arguably even for the first set or two of that.

"We're always going to have battles," Littler told Sky Sports. "Pro Tour, Euro Tour, majors, everything.

"Now he's number three in the world, if he stays there and I stay there throughout the year, then in 2027 me and Gian might come back here for the final.

"We're going to play so many times. He knows he's in the Premier League so we'll be battling week in, week out."

Van Veen acknowledges Littler can be unplayable at times, but is keen for another renewal.

"I know I can match him," he said.

The world finalists are just two of growing number of younger players starting to make an impact in the sport.

"I've said it all week. With us two, Josh Rock, Wessel Nijman, the young boys are here," Van Veen told Sky Sports.

"We're trying to take over the guard. He [Littler] has done it so far. Even Luke Humphries is still a young guy in the sport as well.

"I think this game is for the young players now and we are here to show how it is done."

You can add Beau Greaves and Charlie Manby to Van Veen's list. But these are young players who have been coming through the ranks for a number of years.

Who knows what the Littler effect might bring in the years to come? Perhaps even someone capable of toppling the seemingly unstoppable world champion.