ALEXANDRA PALACE — Luke Littler is back, but not like before. He last left the People’s Palace unburdened by expectation, playing only for himself, beaten but unscarred, a glorious oddity as much as a phenomenon.
353 days later, the bookies’ favourite needs to free one hand from holding up the darting world just to throw, millions of pounds and eyeballs and dreams depending on his continued ascent.
And of course, throw he did, although certainly not at his best. The welcome for the returning prince was so voracious and loving, the sheer force of the noise and alcohol-fuelled adoration so great, it unbalanced even him.
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Read MoreChants of “There’s only one Luke Littler” began long before the man himself had emerged. The crowd’s rendition of his walk-on song lasted long after the screaming speakers did. Littler clapped his fans, they clapped back. The world waited.
Nine darts later, Littler had only scored 201, including a sole treble. He looked out into the baying madness, not so much concerned as perplexed. Ryan “The Barber” Meikle, who spent his week cutting hair in Suffolk after edging past Fallon Sherrock in the first round, took the opening leg.
Not five minutes later, having pinned double top to win the set, he was calming his family and himself, patting the air and saying “Guys, I’m here. Relax”.
Except the Littler everyone has come to know was still not quite here. He was trying too hard, perhaps disrupted by Meikle’s remarkably slow throw – he both looks and plays a bit like Sir Alastair Cook – and not finding the results which often come so naturally.
Meikle won the second set. Suddenly, for the first real time, the spectre of a Littler loss appeared just slightly too real.
And then, just as quickly, it dissipated and disappeared. He took the lead in sets once again. He got six darts into a perfect leg, then hit eight of nine, just falling shy of the final double 12.
In his first-round match against Christian Kist last year, Littler averaged over 106 – the highest-ever Round of 96 total until Callan Rydz topped it earlier this week.
But he did so as an unranked 16-year-old. Littler was the 15th seeded player to begin his World Championship campaign this week, and only three had averaged over 95 before him – and only one of those actually won their game.
Littler slipped south of 93 early in this match, but finished it over 100, thanks to perhaps the greatest set of darts ever thrown, averaging 140.91 – a competitive PDC record. This was yet another new frontier, and the boy genius ended the match in tears from the unimaginable volume of it all.
Whatever he might tell you, Littler stopped being able to just focus on himself some time ago. The depressingly inevitable Luke Littler industry is thriving.
His final pre-match Instagram post was an advert with Xbox, his newest sponsor. Everyone from KP Nuts to National Rail now has skin in the game, and in the five days around this match, he will feature on primetime shows for the BBC, ITV and Sky.
And that’s before we’ve got onto the merchandise. Littler turned spectator for the afternoon to watch 13-year-old Belgian Lex Paeshuyse succeed him as JDC world champion, sporting the “Luke Littler Boxed Hoodie – Navy”, available to Ally Pally punters for just £45, near the £15 steak sandwich and £14.50 halloumi wrap.
If you’re among the 250,000 people Barry Hearn claims couldn’t get tickets to the worlds, do not worry – these delightful numbers are available for the same price at lukelittler.co.uk, where you could throw in any number of phone cases, bottle openers and “The Nuke” beanies.
Players talk about the World Championship in two halves – pre- and post-Christmas. For the 32 seeds, carving turkey after a second-round defeat is about as appealing as spending the festive period being sporadically waterboarded.
For TV and darts executives, returning to the Palace on 27 December without Littler wass a similarly daunting prospect. Realistically, the same will be true of every stage. The man who has doubled darting participation and viewership can halve it too. The Nuke giveth, and the Nuke taketh away.
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