Family and friends of Luke Littler are “all proud of him,” after yesterday’s PDC World Darts Championship final.
The 16-year-old's dreams of becoming the sport's youngest-ever champion were not to be as he was defeated by Luke Humphries on a scoreline of four sets to seven.
Luke ‘The Nuke’ from Warrington didn’t return home empty-handed, however, as he received a cool £200,000 prize money for his heroics throughout the tournament.
On Newstalk Breakfast today a friend of the young star, Eleanor Cairns, said everyone is still proud of him despite the result.
“I think we all had confidence in him at the start and throughout the game really as the crowd loved him,” she said.
“No matter what the result was going to be we were all going to be proud of him.
“I spoke to him last night to tell him how proud I was of him and can’t wait to meet up.”
"It's been unbelievable!" 🥰
What a journey it's been 'walking in a Luke Littler Wonderland' 🎶 pic.twitter.com/87XvxRFI8n
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2024
Ms Cairns, a Youth World Champion darts player in her own right, said his intention at the beginning was to win just one game in the tournament.
“What he went on to achieve after the first win, for his age, the history and the publicity – it’s all so well deserved,” she said.
“This is definitely not the last time you will see Luke Littler on that stage.
“He’s been an inspiration for the younger generation who are now starting to pick up darts and want to be like Luke.
“He should be really proud of himself for that.”
Normal guy
Ms Cairns said he’s a normal young guy outside of darts.
“He’s just as calm, cool, and collected in general,” she said.
“He’s just a typical 16-year-old lad who loves his Xbox and playing FIFA which is lovely to see.”
Made for the BIG stage 😤
Those massive back-to-back early checkouts from Luke Littler 🎥 pic.twitter.com/LRNRPRUQeu
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 4, 2024
The youngster missed an opportunity to go 5-2 up in sets at last night's final at London’s Alexander Palace.
“I think if he would have got that there would have been a different winner,” said Ms Cairns.
“But [Luke] should reflect on this moment and he will get the title next year - I’m pretty sure of that.”
Luke Littler has been playing darts since he was 18 months old and won the WDF men’s Irish Open aged just 14 years old.
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Main image: Luke Littler speaks to the press. Credit: Action Plus Sports Images / Alamy Stock.
