Luke Littler has crowned his debut at the 2024
World Series of Darts Finals by winning the title. After winning the Bahrain Darts Masters and the Premier League Darts, it is his third televised title of the season for The Nuke.
There really was no limit to the 17-year-old teenage sensation this weekend, who managed an average of over 102 in all his five matches. Littler started the tournament with a hard-fought 6-5 win over Ross Smith, after which 'The Nuke' also had to pull out all the stops to beat Raymond van Barneveld 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Littler defeated Chris Dobey (10-7). In the semifinals against Michael van Gerwen, Littler trailed 2-4, but nine wins in a row put an 11-4 final score on the scoreboard.
At the other end of the draw,
Michael Smith managed to make the final. That "Bullyboy" made it to the final was actually already a miracle. In his first three matches, he survived one or more matchdarts each time. Jose de Sousa missed one matchdart to eliminate Smith in the first round, while Wessel Nijman failed to cash in on his six matchdarts against Smith. In the quarterfinals against Rob Cross, Smith survived another three matchdarts. In the semifinals, the Englishman did win comfortably 11-6 over Peter Wright.
In the final, Smith could only keep up with his compatriot in the beginning. After Smith took a 1-2 lead, Littler took over the lead with a 140 finish and a 12-darter. Smith countered with an 11-darter, but then had to surrender his own leg again. Littler threw a 14-darter for 4-3, and ran out to a 9-3 lead thanks to three more 14-darters.
Smith missed a chance at tops in the thirteenth leg to win his fourth leg, then Littler hit the double 10 to make it 10-3. The 17-year-old Englishman was allowed to dock for the win in the fourteenth leg, but missed the bullseye. Smith then managed to extend the match with a superb 170 finish. A leg later, Littler delivered the verdict with a 14-darter, making him the new winner of the World Series Finals.