Luke Littler cruised to eighth title of his debut season in emphatic fashion at the World Series of Darts Finals by thrashing Michael Smith 11-4 in Amsterdam.
Since taking the sporting world by storm with his run to the World Championship final back in January, the 17-year-old has already proved why he was dubbed a ‘generational talent’ by picking up eight titles in just nine months as a PDC pro including the lucrative Premier League with victory over Luke Humphries.
Of his astonishing trophy haul – which is more than many professionals earn in their entire career – four have been on the televised stages and this latest triumph in front of a packed crowd at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam sends out another ominous warning to his rivals ahead of the busy winter of majors.
Incredibly, Littler has managed to pick up a title in every month of the season except August, when he still reached one of his 10 finals overall in 2024, while it was also the fourth time he’d marked a tournament debut with success.
To land the £80,000 winners’ cheque, Littler beat Ross Smith 6-5 (103.3 average), Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 (102.24), Chris Dobey 10-7 (102.91) in a match that he hit 10 of the 19 180s and Michael van Gerwen 11-4 (107.95) before dismantling Smith 11-4 (102.85).
Overall he averaged around 103.79 for the tournament and hit an astonishing 34 maximums in 68 legs (0.50 per leg) and 40% on his doubles.
Littler, who also enjoyed Smith’s 170 checkout in the penultimate leg, said: “I’m just happy to be stood here with the trophy at the end of a long day. I felt relaxed tonight and I played really well across the whole weekend.
“This time last year I was playing on the Development Tour; my name was getting mentioned but at the World Championship every knew who I was.
“I’m going to keep building on this and winning more; it’s a busy schedule coming up and I’m ready for it.”
“I just didn’t do anything in the final,” Smith admitted. “It never happened for me, but I was lucky to be in the final.
“It’s another runner-up trophy, which I’ve collected quite a few of over the years. But this weekend puts me in good stead; I’ve had a bit of time off and now I’m ready to get back practicing hard for the rest of the year.”
