Never will so few words be written about a world champion, which is unfair on Luke Humphries, the deserving new king of darts. He is now the world No 1 and, aged 28, has produced the most remarkable of breakout seasons, winning three major titles including this world championship, the biggest prize of all.
And yet even in victory – a brilliant victory in which Humphries located an unbeatable level in the latter half to blow his opponent away – he was upstaged by a 16-year-old boy. Luke Littler started nervously but he came to life in the second set, and when he went 4-2 ahead in a race to seven, Alexandra Palace expected him to go all the way. Instead Littler’s level dipped and Humphries’ play transformed. He began thudding 180s for fun, rattling off five successive sets to win an epic battle 7-4.
