Luke Littler broke down in tears during his televised interview at Alexandra Palace following his 3-1 victory over Ryan Meikle in the World Darts Championship, with his parents consoling him in the aftermath.
The 17-year-old phenomenon from Warrington was unable to complete the live chat on Sky Sports after the challenging match.
Thousands of darts fans had descended on Alexandra Palace to witness ‘Littlermania’ in action, with the teenage star proving to be the main attraction of the evening.
Despite being the overwhelming favourite, with 10 PDC titles already to his name, Littler showed the emotional toll of performing on darts’ biggest stage.
Luke Littler broke down in tears during his televised interview at Alexandra Palace following his 3-1 victory over Ryan Meikle in the World Darts Championship
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In the dramatic fourth and final set, Littler produced a remarkable performance, averaging a record-breaking 140.91.
The teenage star delivered two 11-darters and one 10-darter to secure his place in the third round.
He came agonisingly close to achieving a nine-darter, with his arrow narrowly missing double 12 in the final set.
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Luke Littler was emotional with the darts star admitting nerves got to him at the World Championship on Saturday night
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The exceptional display delighted the Ally Pally faithful, who had earlier watched five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld suffer a shock 3-1 defeat to Nick Kenny of Wales.
Littler’s stunning performance in the closing set was described as “practically darts from the Gods.”
Speaking after the match, Littler admitted: “It’s the worst game I’ve played. I’ve never felt anything like that tonight.”
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The teenage star explained the overwhelming pressure of the occasion, saying: “It’s the biggest stage out there, the last tournament of the calendar year, and I had to somehow get over the line.”
Describing the emotional moment, he revealed: “I drank my water, said to Abi I was OK, then as soon as the question came, boom, tears.”
“Leading up to it, I was fine,” Littler added. “It was as soon as I heard ‘game on’, my bottom went again. I’m thinking, ‘What are you doing? Just relax.’ That last set, I found it.”
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Meikle, ranked 62nd in the world and nicknamed ‘The Barber’, started the match strongly against the teenage favourite.
Littler showed early promise, throwing five perfect darts but missing with the sixth in two separate legs.
The young star secured the first set with two double 20s, confidently gesturing to the crowd to relax.
Luke Littler powered his way to victory over Ryan Meikle on Saturday night
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Meikle fought back impressively to level the match at 1-1, proving he wasn’t going to be an easy opponent.
Littler regained control in the third set, wrapping it up with a double 10.
The match concluded with his spectacular fourth set performance, where his emotions finally surfaced after securing victory.
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