Luke Littler was glorious in defeat, in a sport the snobs hate – what could be more British than that?

‘He stands like a pub landlord, the unshakable confidence of his feet on the ground, like a tree.’
Luke Littler with his runner-up trophy. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA

There’s a great video montage of Luke Littler, made by his sister Lisa, with his first dartboard. You can hear his mum in the background, modelling a growth mindset (“Are you going to get me a 180? Go on, then”) rather than a fixed mindset (which would have sounded more like: “Holy shit, you’re a genius”).

He’s already got that triumphant flourish in his shoulder, and I want to tell you he’s got the makings, at 18 months old, of the rhythm darts player he soon became. But in good faith, I’d have to admit that I only just learned what that means: thunk, thunk, thunk, like a metronome, fast, sure and unbroken.