Luke Littler falls to familiar foe as darts superstar loses Players' Championship Final

Luke Littler mightiness conscionable beryllium the champion subordinate successful the satellite close now, according to Luke Humphries, but Cool Hand Luke took the apical prize astatine Minehead astatine the lad wonder's expense

Luke Littler turned his vacation campy fortress into a tungsten torture enclosure arsenic his barnstorming Ladbrokes Players Championship run ran retired of stardust.

After a rampant tally to the last astatine Butlins successful Minehead, The Nuke went down 11-7 against Luke Humphries successful the past TV large last of 2024. For Cool Hand Luke, who banked the £120,000 apical prize, it was a sixth large rubric and the archetypal 1 helium has defended successfully.

And world champion Humphries ends the calendar twelvemonth as helium began it - getting the amended of Warrington’s lad wonder.

On the grounds of the past 72 hours successful northbound Devon, the Lukes of hazard volition beryllium the men to bushed erstwhile the circus pitches its large apical astatine Alexandra Palace for the PDC World Championship adjacent month.

The gully is made successful London connected Monday and Humphries said: “I’m truly arrogant of that 1 - I didn’t consciousness myself earlier this week, but Luke seems to bring the champion retired of me. I rode my luck getting to the last due to the fact that I was successful my comfortableness zone, but I question the satellite for these moments.

“If you spell by stats, helium is easy the champion subordinate successful the satellite close present truthful it’s satisfying to triumph this 1 erstwhile I haven’t been astatine my best.”

It was a measurement excessively acold for 17-year-old Littler, who was strangely retired of sorts successful the opening five-leg segment. He averaged a lowly 80 and missed 11 of his 12 darts astatine a double, allowing Humphries to surge into a 4-1 lead.

He closed the spread with a ‘big fish’ 170 decorativeness and, by the clip helium followed it up with 164 and 136 checkouts, some players were truly motoring.

But Littler admitted helium had near himself excessively overmuch to do, saying: “It was pugnacious and if you don’t instrumentality your chances aboriginal on, it’s pugnacious to travel back.

“It’s been a bully past 2 weeks aft winning the Grand Slam and reaching different large final.

"Now I can’t hold to get home, chill retired and past determination connected to the large one.”