Luke Littler: What has 16-year-old's remarkable World Championship run done for darts?
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Luke Littler was making his debut in the PDC World Darts Championship
The remarkable run did not have a fairytale ending - but Luke Littler is confident his moment will come in the future.
Unknown to most at the start of the tournament, the 16-year-old dismantled two former winners as he stormed into the PDC World Championship final at Alexandra Palace, where he was beaten 7-4 by the superb Luke Humphries in a high-quality match.
"It's been unbelievable - I just wanted to win one game and come back after Christmas, that was the only goal I set, so this is a massive bonus," Littler said.
"I have won six games here so why can't I go and win seven here in years to come? I have gained a lot of experience and stage experience.
"The past three to four weeks have been unbelievable and now I just can't wait to go home."
'Beckham messaged to say well done'
Littler has become a household name within the space of a few weeks and received countless messages of support from famous faces.
But the Manchester United fan said one from the club's former midfielder and ex-England captain David Beckham stood out.
"I could name so many, but the big one was David Beckham," he told BBC Sport. "He said, 'well done and once a red always a red'.
"Rio Ferdinand wants me on his podcast. Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard [current and former Manchester United players] have been supporting me. It is crazy."
'Massive for the younger generation'
Darts has received unprecedented media attention along the way, with many drawn in by Littler's down-to-earth personality - so could his story lead to darts having more widespread appeal again?
"I can't get my head around what it'll do for darts," Sporting Life darts journalist Chris Hammer told the BBC's Sports Desk podcast.
"The exposure darts is getting now is unreal. Who knows what darts will look like in 10 years' time."
The final had Sky Sports' highest peak audience (3.71 million) for a non-football event and was Sky's most-watched darts programme ever.
The previous record was Littler's semi-final victory over 2018 champion Rob Cross, with a peak audience of 2.32m, although neither pipped the highest for a darts final, which was when 8.3m viewers tuned in to watch qualifier Keith Deller win the 1983 title by beating favourite Eric Bristow in the now-defunct BDO World Championship on the BBC.
Even without having been on free-to-air television, has Littler - who was just 18 months old when he threw his first dart - inspired more kids to take up the sport?
Watch: The nail-biting lead up to Littler's darts loss
"It will be massive for the younger generation," said Hammer.
"Even before this tournament, darts has been getting cooler for quite a long time. There are places to take your kids to play darts, whereas before you might have thought, 'Oh, I'll start taking them when they're old enough to go the pub'."
Professional Darts Corporation chief executive Matt Porter said the "demographic of darts has been changing over the last couple of decades" since the 1993 split from the BDO that saw the creation of the World Darts Council, which became the PDC.
Porter added darts has "left behind its old image", where players once smoked and drank alcohol on stage, and that Littler, who won £200,000 as runner-up, can "open up doors to a new audience".
"What Luke has done is show teenagers that it's a career opportunity, and it's something they can do themselves because he is just a normal kid," said Porter.
"What he has achieved has been through natural talent, dedication and the support of his family, which means people can be watching him and be inspired by him."
'Littler thrust into limelight'
Luke Littler was on a 15-match winning streak prior to his loss in Wednesday final
Littler and Humphries, 28, have proved their quality among a generation of excellent players - with last year's final that saw Michael Smith beat three-time champion Michael van Gerwen considered an all-time classic.
That more people will have watched Humphries' victory over Littler is a testament to the power of a compelling story to draw people into sport.
Both Porter and Hammer drew comparison with Fallon Sherrock's achievements in 2019 when she became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship before losing in the third round.
"She unfortunately had the brakes put on by Covid just a few months later, which was a real shame, not only for her but for darts," said Porter.
"When anybody does anything, in any sporting environment, that hasn't been done before - either a woman winning or a junior winning - it's going to generate that level of interest in the world that we live in now.
"Luke has been able to, not intentionally, capitalise on that and be thrust into the limelight."
Hammer added: "The Fallon Sherrock breakthrough really did break down barriers, but this is on another level than that."
Littler is now closing in on 700,000 followers on Instagram and has more than 120,000 on X (formerly Twitter), which Hammer said is reflective of how many top players' social media accounts are "booming".
He is not the first youngster to storm the tournament - Kirk Shepherd reached the 2008 final as a 1000-1 outsider aged 21 but failed to capitalise and handed in his tour card in 2022.
But, if this week is anything to go by, Littler looks set for a fine career.
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