Luke Littler hit a nine-darter in the final as he beat Luke Humphries 11-7 to win the 2024 Premier League Darts title.
The 17-year-old was on phenomenal form at the O2 Arena in London and could be seen in tears after throwing the winning dart in front of his family and manager.
It was his fourth nine-darter of the year and he earned a smile and a round of applause from his opponent.
After a 5-5 start to the final, Littler came out from the halfway break and fired a warning to Humphries by becoming only the second player after Phil Taylor to hit a nine-darter in a major final.
He would go on to dominate the rest of the match and win with four games in hand.
It was a deserved victory for the Premier League champion after he beat Michael Smith 10-5 in the semi-final earlier in the night.
LUKE LITTLER HITS A NINE-DARTER IN THE FINAL!!! 🚨🤯 PIC.TWITTER.COM/BY1MUR2MMA
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) MAY 23, 2024
Humphries made his way past Michael van Gerwen but fell at the final hurdle and was unable to add to his World Championship title from the start of the year.
After the match, Littler sent a message to his doubters and cupped his hand to his ear in celebration, with the trophy in his other arm.
He said: “One thing I just want to say – to all the doubters, hello! I’ve just picked up this! You’re not doubting me any more.
“It’s so good to win in front of my family, my girlfriend and my manager. I don’t know what to do!
“I’ve hit a nine-darter on the World Series and so did Phil [Taylor] – now I’ve hit one in the final here and so did he.
“I’m just enjoying it. I’ve been practicing really hard and you can probably see it on the oche. I was dead focused, I didn’t want to blink.
🏆🏆🏆 PIC.TWITTER.COM/TQ9HULIHEK
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) MAY 23, 2024
“I’m a major winner, I can put myself in that hat now – I can’t wait to go to New York next week and after that I’ll have to have a week off in Orlando.
“I can’t wait to play in all the events. I’ve done so well on the Euro Tour and Pro Tour that I’m guaranteed to be in the Matchplay and Grand Prix.”
As ever, Humphries was humble in defeat and admitted he loves playing against the country’s biggest rising star.
The 29-year-old has faced Littler nine times since January and has beaten him only twice.
He added: “Tonight he was much stronger than I was and he deserved to win.
“And if you look at the season as a whole, he deserved to be Premier League champion.
“It’s been a learning curve for me and for Luke as well. We both played our part in this tournament and I’m really proud to make the final.
“Of course I’m gutted not to win but you can’t win everything. Six out of seven major finals for me now, I can only build on it.
“I’m proud of Luke, everyone knows what I think of him, I love him to bits, he’s a great lad. I hope he enjoys himself and he deserves this moment.”
