Luke Littler’s ascent to the top of the rankings was solidified last week with his Grand Slam of Darts victory, surpassing Luke Humphries.
World number one Luke Littler claimed his inaugural Players Championship Finals title, triumphing over fellow Englishman Nathan Aspinall with an 11-8 victory in Minehead.
The 18-year-old, who was defeated in the previous year’s final by Luke Humphries, added another trophy to his collection, just a week after securing the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton and achieving the world number one ranking for the first time.
Aspinall put up a strong fight in the final, narrowing the score to 9-8 at one point by winning four of five legs, but Littler remained composed and clinched his sixth televised title with an 88 checkout.
“I am very proud to get this one ticked off the list – only two more to go now,” Littler told ITV following the win.
The European Championship and the World Masters are the only remaining titles absent from Littler’s impressive resume.
Littler averaged 103.33 compared to Aspinall’s 93.64 during Sunday’s final, although his opponent recorded seven maximum 180s, one more than the champion.
“It wasn’t easy to get to this final at all,” he commented.
“[Aspinall] has been playing really well for a good few weeks now and I had to dig in at the end there. I am glad I got the job done.
“Earlier in my career, I was just trying to be myself but now I am starting to let out a bit of my emotion. I’m looking to the big one next month.”
Earlier in the day, Littler defeated Chris Dobey 10-5 in the last 16 before overcoming top seed and former world champion Gerwyn Price, of Wales, 11-8 to secure his place in the final.
Meanwhile, Aspinall advanced to his seventh major final with a dominant 11-2 victory over Jermaine Wattimena of the Netherlands.
“I don’t know how [Littler] has this energy,” Aspinall remarked.
“He is incredible. What he has done for this game is incredible and I was happy to share that stage with him.”
Beau Greaves has won the World Matchplay twice
In other news, England’s Beau Greaves suffered a 6-3 defeat against Gian van Veen in the final of the World Youth Championship in Minehead.
Greaves had achieved a thrilling 6-5 victory over world champion Luke Littler last month, making her the first woman to reach the world youth final.
However, the 21-year-old from Doncaster fell behind 4-1 to defending champion Van Veen before staging a comeback to nearly level the score at 4-3.
Ultimately, Van Veen, who was defeated by Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round of the main draw of the Players Championship, maintained his composure to become only the second player to retain the youth title after Dimitri van den Bergh in 2018.
Greaves, a three-time WDF Women’s World Champion, concluded the PDC Women’s Series with an impressive 86-match winning streak and will compete in the World Championship, commencing at Alexandra Palace on 11 December.
Beau Greaves – the ‘very special’ talent who beat Littler
Littler wins Grand Slam and secures world number one ranking