Come at the king, you best not miss. A record 128 players started the World Darts Championship and seven took their shot at reigning champion Luke Littler along the way. Some fans turned on him too over the three weeks and his walk-ons were regularly accompanied by a smattering of noisy boos. Yet no one could knock him off his stride, not even rising star Gian van Veen, who was ripped limb from limb by a ruthless Littler on the Alexandra Palace stage as the champion retained his crown.
At times he seemed to think the whole world was against him. This was a different Littler to the boy who triumphed 12 months ago against Michael van Gerwen on the same platform: a snarling, snorting Littler, hurling darts like he’d pinned the face of a sworn enemy to the board, ripping them out of the treble-20 bed after each of his 16 180s with feeling.
