I won fair and square!Luke Littler silences critics who claimed he cheated….
Luke Littler picked up his first major TV ranking title on debut at the Grand Slam of Darts 2024 and has no intention of slowing down on his quest to put his name in the history books.
It was a sensational display from Littler on finals Sunday in Wolverhampton, beating Gary Anderson 16-15 in an all-time classic semi-final before in the final.
The victory moves Littler up to fifth in the world on the PDC Order of Merit and the favourite for the World Darts Championship on just his debut year as a professional.
His fellow Grand Slam finalist Lukeman was waxing lyrical about him after their encounter and believes he has the talent to surpass the achievements of Michael van Gerwen and even Phil Taylor.
“If I want it, then I should get it,” Littler said.
“But it’s going to take quite some years to pick up the amount of trophies, not only what Michael has got, but also Phil Taylor.”
The first target for Littler is those rankings and he has his eye on being even higher than fifth in the world come the end of the year.
“I knew coming into the tournament, if I do get my hands on the trophy, which is a long way away, I’ll be up to No 5 in the world… No 5 in the space of 10 months.
“There’s still another two more ranking tournaments to go so hopefully I can go a bit higher than five.”
Since going on his mind-boggling run at the Worlds last December, Littler’s life has changed dramatically in every single aspect and he is now a recognised celebrity wherever he goes.
But for the 17-year-old, moments like the Grand Slam make it all worthwhile.
“I was just very happy with my performance,” he added.
“The best feeling was when the ball of confetti came out. This is what we play for and the big titles we collect.
“The World Championship changed me, changed my family, but now the months have gone on and I’m just getting used to it all.
“I’m going to have to get used to it for a very long time.
“This is one of the ones I wanted to win. Obviously my major record isn’t the best so it’s OK now. I just wanted to come here, go deep and it just shows them I’m still here.