Luke Littler Dominates Grand Slam, Wins 16-3 in Final

Luke Littler continued his remarkable debut year as a professional by winning the Grand Slam of Darts defeating qualifier Martin Lukeman 16-3 in the final in Wolverhampton. The 17-year-old trailed 2-0 but then won 15 consecutive legs to take a commanding 15-2 lead. Lukeman briefly halted Littler’s streak, celebrating his first leg win with the crowd but Littler sealed the victory by breaking Lukeman’s throw in the 19th leg, claiming his first major ranking title and the Eric Bristow trophy.

Little serenaded by the crowd with “Walking in a Littler Wonderland” during his warm-up, finished the tournament with an impressive 107.08 average, one of the highest in Grand Slam history including 12 180s and 15 140s. He became only the third player after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen to average over 100 in every match of a Grand Slam. Littler now sits fifth in the PDC’s Order of Merit, up from 164th a year ago.

The win earned Luke Littler £150,000, bringing his total prize money to £558,500. He expressed his joy after the win, noting, “It’s been a long week, but it’s paid off.” Despite some early challenges including being down in several matches, Littler showed resilience especially in his comeback win against Gary Anderson in the semi-finals.

Littler’s victory marks his 10th title of 2024 and cements his status as a rising star in darts. He is now the favorite for the World Championships with his impressive form earning him significant attention. The Grand Slam’s past winners, Michael Smith and Luke Humphries both went on to win the World Championships adding further anticipation to Littler’s chances.

Timeline: Luke Littler’s brilliant maiden year

2023

3 March: Made senior debut at 2023 UK Open, reaching the round of 64, earning a PDC merit ranking

26 November: Won the PDC World Youth Darts Championship final

17 December: Retained JDC World Darts Championship

20 December: Wins on senior World Championship debut, beating Dutchman Christian Kist, averaging 106.12

2024

3 January: Beats former champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross on his way to reaching the World Championship final, where he lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries in final

19 January: Hits first televised nine-darter during World Series darts debut against Nathan Aspinall

19 January: Beats Michael van Gerwen to win Bahrain Darts Masters and earn his first PDC senior title

12 February: Hits a nine-darter against Michele Turetta and beats Ryan Searle to win PDC Players Championship final on debut

20 March: Wins Belgian Darts Open, beating Cross in the final, hitting his third nine-darter of the year

18 April: Won first Premier League Darts night in Belfast, beating Aspinall 6-4 in the final. Later went on to win in Manchester, Liverpool and Aberdeen

28 April: Wins the Austrian Darts Open, beating Joe Cullen in final

16 May: Ended the 2024 Premier League regular season with a record-equalling 40 points to top table

23 May: Wins the Premier League Darts title with an 11-7 win over Luke Humphries for his first major PDC title

15 June: Wins Poland Darts Masters, beating Cross in final

15 September: Wins the World Series of Darts title, with a 11-4 win over Michael Smith

October: Knocked out of Grand Prix in first round by Cross before an opening-round exit in the European Championship

17 November: Wins Grand Slam of Darts at first attempt to move into top five in world