LUKE Littler has made it to the finals of the World Darts Championship as he nears his goal of becoming the youngest winner, ever.
Now just one match away from seizing the crown, the Warrington darts supremo beat popular Stephen Bunting tonight at Alexandra Palace in London.
A legion of fans watched the match at home; with others making the 200-mile journey to the capital.
Littler’s journey to the final has been not entirely plain sailing.
He beat Ryan Meikle in his third-round victory but Ryan Joyce took him to a deciding set in round four.
His quarter-final win against Nathan Aspinall was more assured, however.
The crunch semi-final match began at around 9.30 pm on Thursday, January 2, as he was greeted by a standing ovation along with Bunting, as Littler entered to the sound of Greenlight by Pitbull.
Littler took the first four sets in a closely fought contest.
But 39-year-old Bunting, who had huge crowd backing, held his nerve and fought back to win the fifth set as the game went to a sixth set.
He waved at his son in the audience as Littler, tapped him on the hand.
Littler snatched the final from his clutches by winning the sixth set and a closely-fought seventh set, winning the match 6-1.
And the final takes place on Friday, January 3 as he faces Dutch player Michael van Gerwen, currently ranked third in the world.
So it won’t be long before the 17-year-old Nuke finds out if he’s going to take the crown.
Littler turned professional just last year in 2024 when he was runner-up in the World Championship to Luke Humphries, aged just 16.
Humphries has already crashed out of the championships.
Littler went on to win 10 titles in his first year as a professional, including the darts Premier League.
It reflected positively in his rankings, too. He soared from 164th best player in the world to fourth.
Should he win the tournament, he will rise to second place in the rankings.
And it’s been lucrative for him as his prize money has topped £1m.
