And with a rush of blood, a flick of the wrist and the pock of a pointed dart in the double-eight bed, it was all over. One dream made and one dream dashed, one destiny fulfilled and one destiny deferred. Luke Humphries, the world No 1, is the new champion of the world, and he did it not simply by defeating the genius of Luke Littler, but by pushing back the tides of fate: standing in the seemingly irresistible path of a great sporting fairytale and meeting it with his own singular brilliance.
It was one of the great Ally Pally finals, one of the greatest and most dramatic tussles this famous stage has ever seen, under some of the greatest pressure ever known, in what will almost certainly be the biggest global audience this sport has ever enjoyed.
