Luke Littler completed the Triple Crown with World Matchplay victory in Blackpool; Littler closed the gap on Luke Humphries at the top of the PDC World Rankings; Littler will have chances to become world No 1 before the World Darts Championship, live on Sky Sports
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Luke Littler refused to describe himself as the best darts player in the world after his Betfred World Matchplay victory, but how close is he to officially becoming world No 1?
The 18-year-old defeated James Wade 18-13 in a high-quality final at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, where he fired a 107.24 average on his way to becoming the youngest player to win the Phil Taylor Trophy.
Victory saw Littler become just the fifth player to complete the Triple Crown – having already won the Premier League last May and the World Championship in January – joining Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries in darts’ exclusive club.
His latest record-breaking success adds to his growing haul of titles and closes the gap on Humphries at the top of the PDC world rankings, with more majors to come in the second half of the year for Littler to get to top spot.
The Werner Rankings Ladder (PDC World Rankings) is based on prize money won over a two-year period by players in ranking tournaments.
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Humphries currently tops the standings – as of July 28 – with £1,797,750, while Luke Littler’s latest TV title lifted him to £1,500,500 and less than £300,000 away from top spot.
Michael van Gerwen is their closest challenger but a long way back in third (£739,750), with Stephen Bunting in fourth and Wade completing the top five after his run to the Blackpool final.
Source: Skysports
