The 16-year-old sensation was out to become the youngest world champion in darts history after his incredible run at Alexandra Palace.
Wednesday’s final in the capital saw him come up against world no1 Humphries. Having recovered from losing the opening set, the teenager stormed into a 4-2 lead before Humphries reeled off five exquisite set victories to seal a 7-4 win.
In the 11th and final set, Littler had the opportunity to keep the fight going only to miss three darts that would have seen him take the set.
Littler pounced, finishing off with a double eight to seal the win. Littler immediately embraced his opponent but admitted he was frustrated with how things ended.
‘It’s been unbelievable,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘The one negative was I lost too many legs on my throw so Luke could break me. I couldn’t hold my own throw and didn’t win.
‘That was the only negative, I just couldn’t hold my own throw and I didn’t win. Every game has been good but that one has just really annoyed me, especially the three missed to keep it going.
‘That’s what the crowd wanted but fair play to Luke. He deserves it.’
Despite the defeat, Littler has made astonishing progress in becoming a new star of British sport and will climb more than 130 places in the world rankings.
‘I’ve got to the final, I might not get to another final for the next five to 10 years, we don’t know, but I can say I’m a runner-up and now I just want to go and win it,’ he said.
Humphries, 12 years older than tonight’s opponent, explained he was extra motivated to secure the win, believing Littler will go onto ‘dominate darts’.
‘The whole day I have been thinking, get this one now because he is going to be dominating world darts soon.
‘He’s an incredible player. When I was on the brink of winning he was still so relentless. He’s an incredible talent but I had to win this one tonight. He’s going to win plenty I’m sure.’
MORE : ‘He is incredible’ – Luke Humphries ‘had to win’ World Darts Championship after backing Luke Littler to dominate darts
MORE : Luke Littler loses to Luke Humphries in World Darts Championship final as world no1 ends fairytale run
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