Luke Littler doubles up on World Series Circuit down under

This 18 year-old wonderkid from Warrington continues to redefine the game of darts at a pace that very few could have ever imagined.

It was just under a month ago that Littler etched his name into the sport’s history books by clinching the World Matchplay at the famous Winter Gardens in Blackpool. He joined the 'Triple Crown Club', a group that, until now, had only ever been achieved by five players in history: Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Luke Humphries and now Luke Littler. 

After winning the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongong just a fortnight ago, this kid was determined to travel across the Tasman in an attempt to double up and take home the New Zealand Darts Masters too.

Littler edged past New Zealand representative Mark Cleaver 6–4 in a scratchy opener, averaging 87.73. Cleaver, spurred on by the home crowd, gave the Kiwi fans a moment to savour and forced Littler to dig deep to avoid an upset. He sure gave the 2025 Premier League champion a run for his money.

Luke Littler shakes hands with Mark Cleaver after a shaky start to his campaign in Auckland

Once the jet lag faded, the teenager shifted gears.

He defeated Mike De Decker in the second round 6-2, (100.03 av), Gerwyn Price in round three 7-2 (108.81 av) before setting up a head-to-head clash with his 2025 World Cup partner, Luke Humphries. Coming into this encounter, Cool Hand was eager to defend his title he won last year.

Littler was off to a fast start, reeling off the first three legs of the game before Humphries fought back, winning the next two consecutive legs to bring the game back to a near balance at 3-2. Littler then had a purple patch, won the next three legs and looked in a commanding position at 6-2. Humphries as expected, tried to wrestle the game back in his favour, pulling the encounter back to 6-4, looking to turn the tide against the recent World Champion.

Ultimately, Littler was too good, ruthlessly dishing up two 11-dart legs in a row to claim victory - averaging a staggering 115.02, which to date is the highest average recorded in a World Series event final. He will no doubt want to break his own record next time out.

Littler raises his first New Zealand Darts Masters trophy at just 18

It wasn't long ago since Humphries had the wood over Littler; however, Humphries has now lost the last four matches against The Nuke, winning 7 from 16 games against the teenager. The two will no doubt have many incredible contests against each other, which you'd think will be for a long time...

Analysing his road to victory on Episode 28 of 'The 9-Dart Podcast', Lorenzo & Josh concluded that the longer the kid goes in tournaments, the better he gets... and that hypothesis rings pretty true.

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