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3rd January 2024
10:59pm GMT
Leading 4-2 early on in Wednesday night's World Darts Championship final against Luke Humphries, Luke Litter looked like he may have been on for the fairytale.
The teenage dreamer had knocked in a number of tonne-plus finished, he'd shaken off some early nerves to re-summon the style and swagger that, over the last three weeks, has had the whole world taking.
He even had darts to go 5-2 up but, unfortunately for him, that was as good as it got.
It wasn't that he lost his way, entirely, it was more a case of his opponent Luke Humphries piling on the pressure that, before long, had inspired him to his first world title, having reeled off five sets on the bounce to win 7-4.
Having sealed the victory with a double-eight, Humphries dropped to his knees on the Alexandra Palace stage, with the tears rolling down his face.
This man has previously spoken about the demons that almost caused him to give the sport up and, on this moment of moments, those darker days can't have been too far from his mind.
"There was a time in my life when I was really depressed," he said after the game.
"It makes it more incredible for myself mentally. I couldn't do it on the big stage. I went through a lot of problems. To go on now and be World Champion, it's proved a lot to my mental toughness."
Spare a thought for Luke Littler, the teen sensation who drew a global audience to this final of finals.
His dream run won't be forgotten in a hurry, certainly not by the Alexandra Palace crowd who drowned out his post-match interview and indeed much of the game's aftermath with chants of 'there's only one Luke Littler, only one Luke Littler, walking along, singing a song, walking in a Littler wonderland."
His opponent Luke Humphries certainly feels he'll be back, tipping him for World titles in the future.
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