World Grand Prix Darts: Luke Littler beats Luke Humphries 6-1 to win another televised major title and move closer to world number one in Leicester | Darts News

Luke Littler won his first Boyle Sports World Grand Prix title and moved closer to world number one after a 6-1 victory over Luke Humphries in Leicester.

The world’s top two renewed their rivalry after staging the dream final at the Mattioli Arena, where Littler won the first two sets in the final leg and missed the target horribly for a nine-dart leg immediately after the break.

Littler closed out the third and fourth sets in the final stage, but Humphries reduced the deficit by winning the fifth set with a check-out of 154, before the 18-year-old won the next two to claim an emphatic victory.

Littler’s latest major TV success follows victories at the World Championship, UK Open and World Matchplay in another impressive campaign, while 2023 champion Humphries – who outscored Littler by 93.61 to 92.15 on average – finished runner-up for the second year in a row.

Littler’s victory also sees him move within £70,000 of Humphries in the PDC Order of Merit, increasing the possibility of him moving to the top of the world rankings ahead of his world champion title defense in December.

“[£70,000] “It’s not a lot of prize money, given what we’re playing for,” Littler told Sky Sports of his quest for the world No. 1. “Luke [Humphries] I will know that I have his back now and I am on him. »

How Littler got the Leicester title

Littler opened with a 16-dart hold, but took 13 darts to start the next, then responded to Humphries’ 13-dart break by pulling back with a 66 and taking the set in a deciding match.

The Nuke took advantage of Humphries’ missed doubles to win the first two legs of the second, where Humphries posted rounds at 13 and 11 darts before Littler carded a check-out 64 to take a two-set advantage.

Littler fired a perfect eight darts in the opening stage of the third, missing the target in a bid to deliver only the fourth nine-dart in tournament history, then recovered from wasting two darts to seal the set with a 104.

A shell-shocked Humphries responded to Littler by starting the fourth with a 116 by hitting 149 and 110 checkouts in successive legs, dragging the set to another 2-0 final leg, but Littler pinned D10 in the decider to move up four clear.

Humphries’ persistence saw him unfurl four straight legs, raising his arms in the air after making a 154 check to win the fifth with a 12-dart break, only for Littler to complete a 90 in the next and close the sixth set with a superb 11-dart.

A relentless Littler carded a 98 and added another ton-plus shot to move within one stage of victory, before a 14-dart haul – in another decisive stage – closed out a seventh different major title in less than two years.

Humphries after Littler beating: ‘I need to get better’

Littler’s victory is his second consecutive win over Humphries in a televised final, having also beaten him at the New Zealand Darts Masters this summer, with the world number 1 admitting he has work to do to keep up with the new world Grand Prix champion.

“He was so clinical in the first four sets,” Humphries told Sky Sports. “When I was 4-0 down, I just wanted to give something to the crowd. I wasn’t playing for myself, I was playing for the crowd because the match had gotten away from me.

“It’s hard to accept. It’s disappointing because I felt like I was going to give him a better game than I did. I just have to get better. I have to work harder. If I don’t, he’ll walk away with all the time.

“I have to work harder than ever because I want to match him.”

Littler, who is just three titles away from winning every major PDC event, told Sky Sports: “Very happy to check that box. It’s not the easiest tournament to win. This week has been so difficult.

“Now I’ve won the trophy, it’s a trophy I can tick off and there aren’t many left. I have to make the big shots, the big scores when Luke [Humphries] It puts pressure on me.

“I think I played very well tonight. Luke was always behind me, I couldn’t take my foot off the gas. I’m very happy to have won.”

What’s next?

The PDC ProTour continues with Players Championship events in Wigan on Tuesday and Wednesday, before the start of the German Darts Championship on Friday – the final event to qualify for the Machineseeker European Championship the following week.

The next major live TV event on Sky Sports is the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton from November 8-16, before the World Darts Championship takes place from December 11-January at Alexandra Palace. Stream darts, football, golf, cricket and more contract-free with NOW.