OFFICIAL: Luke Littler beats Phil Taylor in 'first-time ever' match-up for Target Darts - "He held his nerve, and I crumbled!"

After weeks of speculation and anticipation, the winner of the 'first-time ever' battle between the man of the moment Luke Littler, and the greatest of all time Phil Taylor, has now been revealed by Target Darts. As had been widely predicted, it was Littler that took the win, although that doesn't tell the full story...

As mentioned, ever since Target Darts' first announcement of Littler meeting Taylor for the first time ever, the darting world has been a buzz with comments. For example, posting on X, massive darts fan Holly Dawes, from Staffordshire wrote: “Two champions, this is the Ultimate! So excited for this!”

George Harvey from Aylesbury drew comparisons with a generational meeting of another sport: “This is like Mike Tyson vs Tank Davis”, while Wolverhampton’s Dan Fellows followed a similar boxing line with his analysis: “Rocky Balboa vs Tommy Gunn vibes”.

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It wasn't just the fans that were intrigued either. Darting icons Bobby George and Chris Mason both also weighed in, although with very different views on a potential meeting between Littler and Taylor. “Taylor was a great player, but I don’t think he would have beaten Littler, even is his heyday,” the legendary George told TalkSport.

Mason however, fired back in conversation with Online Darts. “The averages are comparable. Taylor still has averages – on inferior boards – which still stack up against the elite of the last eight years. That’s why it’s b******s, I’m afraid.”

Littler and Taylor's 'first-time ever' meeting was the talk of the darting world

Target Darts have now released the video from the meeting between Littler and Taylor, and as it turns out, George and Mason's analysis of the two generational talent's darting abilities was not needed. The highly anticipated battle of the current PDC World Darts Champion and the 16-time champion of the world, touted as a fight to find "who has the steadiest hand under pressure," was never about the darts at all!

Commentated by Dan Dawson, Littler and Taylor did battle in a game of Jenga, where a steady hand is required to pull out one block at a time from a tower, without the whole structure collapsing. Speaking after his win, Littler said: “I knew that I was going to have to be at my very best to block out the noise and knock over such an incredible opponent. Phil is such a towering player who has set the bar so high in his amazing career, so it feels great to have kept a steady hand and secured a win against a true legend.”

Taylor himself added: “It was a high-stakes match. I thought I might’ve had the edge with experience, but fair play to Luke, he held his nerve, and I crumbled! He really knows how to take his opponent down, piece by piece. I’m sure we’ll continue to see him make the right moves and reach new heights.”

See the first-time ever meeting for yourself in the video down below!

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