16-year-old Luke Littler sensationally makes it to the World Darts Championship final
Luke Littler underlines his status as the shooting star of the World Darts Championship: the 16-year-old puts in another outstanding performance in the semi-finals and becomes the youngest player ever to reach the final. Littler inflicts a clear defeat on Rob Cross, the 2018 champion.
Super-talented Luke Littler has reached the final of the World Darts Championship and is on the verge of the big time. The 16-year-old Englishman continued his sensational run of victories with a 6-2 semi-final win over his compatriot and former champion Rob Cross and could become the youngest world champion in history on Wednesday evening. In the final, the teenager will face Luke Humphries or Scott Williams (both England), who will meet in the second semi-final. For Cross, who was the first player to turn around a 4-0 deficit against Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals at the Ally Pally the day before, the dream of a second title after 2018 was dashed.
The exceptional talent once again performed like no other player of his age had ever done before. With strong nerves and unimpressed by the hype surrounding him, the unseeded Littler delivered another astonishingly serene top performance in a thrilling duel at eye level, as he had done in the previous rounds.
With his carefree manner, "The Nuke" ("The Atomic Bomb") became a crowd favorite in record time - even before his semi-final duel, he played with the crowd during his run-in. However, Littler, celebrated in the English media as a "child prodigy", suffered an early setback: Cross was not deterred, got off to a strong start and took the first set. Littler did not struggle for long - and immediately picked up on his recent performances. The youngster from the north-west of England quickly hit back, withstood his opponent's pressure and won the next three sets. However, Cross stayed in contention and the two Englishmen engaged in an open exchange of blows.
After Cross had reduced the deficit to 2:3, junior world champion Littler stepped up the pace once again. Cross could no longer keep up and the youngster took his first match dart. Littler has been regarded as the tournament favorite even before the unexpected retirement of top star Michael van Gerwen on New Year's Day.
The most recent Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship title winner is Michael van Gerwen, who was surprisingly defeated by Williams in the quarter-finals on New Year's Day. The Dutchman triumphed for the first time in London in 2014 at the age of 24.
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Luke Littler's impressive run continues as he prepares for the World Darts Championship final, aiming to become the youngest-ever world champion. Despite Rob Cross's best efforts, Littler secured his place in the final with a victorious performance at the World Championships.
Source: www.ntv.de
