Luke Littler marked his first day as the world’s top-ranked darts player by defeating former number one Luke Humphries 16–11 to win the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
The 18-year-old world champion had already secured the top spot in the PDC rankings by beating Danny Noppert 16–9 in the semi-finals. That result guaranteed he would move ahead of Humphries, regardless of the final’s outcome. Littler then underlined his dominance by winning 10 of the last 13 legs in the final to retain his Grand Slam title and remain unbeaten in the event.
Littler is now the youngest world number one in PDC history, surpassing Michael van Gerwen, who reached the milestone at age 24 in 2014.
“I can finally say I’m the best in the world,” Littler said. “Going back-to-back here makes it even more special. Now I want to stay number one for years.”
The final swung back and forth early on. Littler went 2–0 up, Humphries ran off four straight legs to lead 4–2, and the match stayed tight until Littler’s 167 checkout levelled it at 8–8. The key moment came at 10–9 when Humphries chased a 170 finish, missed, and then made errors on the next visit. Littler seized the opportunity with a 160 checkout and pulled away from there.
Littler’s two-year prize money total rose to £1.85m, narrowly exceeding Humphries’ tally even if the 30-year-old had successfully defended his 2023 Grand Slam crown.
Former world champion Mark Webster praised Littler’s rapid rise, calling it “remarkable” to reach number one in under two years.
Both Littler and Humphries advanced from high-quality semi-finals. Littler overturned an 8–6 deficit against Noppert by winning 10 of the next 11 legs. Humphries delivered a superb performance in his 16–13 win over Gerwyn Price, averaging 106.25 with 16 maximums.
Despite losing both the final and his ranking, Humphries vowed to strike back. “I’m going to win the Worlds,” he said. “I am declaring war on him. We’re going to go to war at the World Championships.”
Littler welcomed the rivalry, agreeing that the two are currently playing at a level above the rest. “If people are tired of seeing us in finals, someone else has to stop us,” he said. He expects many more big battles with Humphries as both fight for the number one position.
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