LUKE WHO'S BACK
Luke Littler, 17, breaks down in tears live on TV and forced to cut interview short after World Darts Championship win
Littler almost pulled off an incredible feat in the fourth set
LUKE LITTLER broke down in tears and cut short a TV interview due to emotion – after he almost hit his first Ally Pally nine-darter.
The Nuke was so overcome by what he had done following his 3-1 win over Ryan Meikle in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship that he was lost for words.
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Minutes after he had missed out on achieving the perfect leg in the fourth set, the tournament favourite was put in front of the Sky Sports camera.
Littler, 17, said “I started off dead slow…” to reporter Abigail Davies but then stopped talking and had to walk away to wipe away his tears.
Sky decided not to carry on talking and he left the stage and hugged his parents in the VIP seats.
He had missed out on the chance to win himself a £60,000 bonus as he wired the double 12.
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And his average in that final extraordinary set – 140.91 – was a record for one set of darts in the recorded history of the World Championships.
After composing himself, Littler said: “That was the toughest game I have played. I had to fight until the end. It is good to be back.
“It is the worst game I have played. Maybe as nervy as I had in my first game of the Premier League.
“My bottom went a bit nervous on that stage at the start.
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“After the first question, the tears came. I thought to myself: What am I doing? It was a bit too much to speak on stage.”
Littler was not at his razor-sharp best in the first two sets against Suffolk barber Meikle and looked vulnerable as he kept missing treble 20.
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That is despite wrapping up the first set in leg five with a showman 100 checkout.
Meikle, 28, had two darts at double 12 to take the opener and then the world No.62 commendably drew level at 1-1.
But then the Warrington ace went on a mad, electrifying run over the next five minutes.
Littler hit six perfect darts in leg one of set four and those in the crowd were dreaming of a possible nine-darter but the seventh dart did not follow suit.
In the next leg, he almost nailed the nine-darter and was so close to getting the double.
Paddy Power are dishing out £180,000 whenever there is a nine-darter in the 16-day tournament.
They will give £60,000 to the player who achieves the feat, £60,000 to the Prostate Cancer UK charity and £60,000 to one fan.
If he hits one more, it will be his fifth for 2024 and that would represent a record for a pro player.
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His third-round game after Christmas will be against either Ritchie Edhouse, the European champion, or Ian White.
If Littler goes one better than last time, he would – at the age of 17 – be the youngest person in history to lift one of the PDC or BDO world crowns.
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