Luke Littler wins PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace after thrashing Michael van Gerwen

Luke Littler stunned three-time winner Michael van Gerwen to scoop his maiden PDC World Championship title at Alexandra Palace. The Runcorn-born teenager, nicknamed The Nuke, dominated the final in front of a packed crowd, storming to a 7-3 win over rival van Gerwen, who never looked like securing his fourth title - the last of which came in 2019.

Littler, who doesn't turn 18 until later this month, put on a dominant display that marked a turnaround from earlier rounds, where he struggled to show the sort of form that saw him secure three PDC titles and the runner-up spot in this competition in 2024.

However, a return to form in the semi-finals, where he defeated Stephen Bunting 6-1 with an average of 105.48 - his highest of the tournament - continued into the final and saw him become the youngest ever PDC world champion.

It was symbolic he defeated van Gerwen, who until tonight was the youngest ever winner of the PDC title - picking up the trophy in 2014 at the age of 24. Now 35, the Dutchman was firmly in the shadow of the young pretender and apparent heir to his throne atop the world rankings throughout.

After storming into a 4-0 lead at Ally Pally, the record books were checked for how big a victory this could be for Littler. Just four finals have seen one of those taking part fail to secure a set since the PDC version of the World Championship started in 1994 - with van Gerwen joining Dennis Priestley, John Part and Peter Manley (twice) in that unfortunate club.

However, van Gerwen showed his class in the fifth set, landing a 132 checkout to take it and remind the young upstart the Green Machine was still capable of some fireworks of his own.

Littler, however, was not thrown off his rhythm, taking the sixth set, before van Gerwen made it 5-2 as he struggled to maintain a foothold in the match. But Littler would not allow it, taking the eighth set 3-0. It meant the Dutch legend now had to win every remaining set. He managed the ninth, making the score 6-3, before Littler - now on his own throw - rushed to a 3-0 win in the tenth set to make sure he got his hands on the coveted trophy.

The victory completed a remarkable rise to fame for the teenager, who won his first senior title at the age of just 14. In 2023, he made his debut at a PDC major event - the UK Open - where, as a qualifier, he reached the fourth round, winning £2,500 in prize money.

But it was at Ally Pally last year he came to national prominence, announcing himself with a whitewash of former world champion Christian Kist in the first round, with an average of 106.12, a record for a debutant, as well becoming the youngest ever winner at the competition.

The second round saw him beat 2023 UK Open winner Andrew Gilding 3-1, before a victory over Matt Campbell saw him face five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld in round four - which he won 4-1. A victory over Brendan Dolan saw him make the semi-finals, where he defeated 8th seed Rob Cross 6-2. On his Ally Pally debut, The Nuke had reached the final, at the age of 16. There, he was finally beaten by newly-crowned world number one Luke Humphries 7–4, but the Runcorn teen was now firmly on the ‘ones to watch’ list.

Tonight, a year on, a year older, he went a stage further to secure the title he - even according to Apple's AI news bot which earlier in the day proclaimed him the winner - seemed destined to win.