Luke Littler achieved his darting destiny at the age of 17 on Friday night when he conquered Michael van Gerwen to win the PDC World Darts Championship.
The teenager, who famously reached the final on debut in a losing effort to Luke Humphries 12 months ago, banished that loss to memory with a 7-3 success at Alexandra Palace.
Littler capitalised on early outer-ring errors from MvG to break and win the first set before forging out a 4-0 lead with the help of a showpiece 70 checkout, in which he went Bullseye-Double 10.
Van Gerwen found his form in the second half of the fixture but Littler had too much for the three-time champion of the world.
Littler's success capped off an unprecedented debut year in the sport, in which he also won the Premier League, World Series of Darts Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts.
By becoming world champion aged 17 he has taken the mantle of youngest ever from Van Gerwen - who was 24-years-old when he defeated Peter Wright in 2014.
Luke Littler Shows Class With Comments After World Darts Win
His successes this year firmly place him as the best darts player on the planet in the eyes of most players, pundits and fans alike.
Littler, who speaks with remarkable maturity for his young age, has consistently refused to admit that he is the best player in the game when asked throughout the 2024 season.
The predictable question came up again during his post-match press conference from Phill Barrs of Online Darts TV, who asked if Littler would now concede that he is indeed the premier player on the planet, as his CV suggests.
Littler however, would not be drawn, meeting the question with a smile before setting the record straight.
I won't (say it) Phill... I won't say I am the best. Maybe stats wise I am the best, but I will never say it."
A class act.
While Littler has gained a significant following for his exploits on the oche, his conduct away from the dartboard will only continue to earn him even more admirers.
