Luke Littler wins World Series of Darts Finals with victory over Michael Smith in Amsterdam
Luke Littler hits sensational back-to-back checkouts of 140 and 130 to take the lead on his way to claiming his maiden World Series of Darts Finals title in Amsterdam
Luke Littler was at his mesmeric best in the World Series of Darts Finals as he claimed a comprehensive victory over 2023 world champion Michael Smith in Amsterdam.
Littler was the top seed for the tournament after previous wins in Bahrain and Poland in the World Series and made it a hat-trick of successes with victory in the Dutch capital.
The 17-year-old secured the £80,000 top prize on his debut in the competition with an 11-4 victory over Smith, to follow up wins against Chris Dobey (10-7) and then home favourite Michael van Gerwen (11-4) earlier on Sunday.
After defeating another Dutch legend in Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday, Littler was superb at AFAS Live – dispatching of Van Gerwen and clocking a 107.95 average as he won nine successive legs, and then won by the same margin over Smith.
“I’m just happy to be stood here with the trophy at the end of a long day,” said Littler. “I felt relaxed tonight and I played really well across the whole weekend.
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“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.”
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After Littler and Smith exchanged breaks to move to 3-3 early in the final, ‘The Nuke’ put together a sensational run of seven straight legs to leave the former world champion on the brink of defeat.
Smith, who had earlier beaten Rob Cross 10-9 in a dramatic quarter-final and then Peter Wright 11-6 in the last four, pulled a leg back with a 170 checkout before Littler finished on double 10 – in typical fashion – to claim the crown.
“I just didn’t do anything in the final,” a disappointed Smith said. “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 practising hard for the rest of the year.”
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler 10-7 Chris Dobey
Michael van Gerwen 10-9 Luke Humphries
Peter Wright 10-4 Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith 10-9 Rob Cross
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
Luke Littler 11-4 Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith 11-6 Peter Wright
Final
Luke Littler 11-4 Michael Smith
Here’s a look back at last year’s thrilling World Grand Prix final in Leicester
The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is next on the Sky Sports darting calendar.
The annual £600,000 tournament will take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete for the coveted title which was won by Luke Humphries in 2023.
