“The Nuke” wasn’t in crisis, but it wasn’t in great shape either.
His accuracy at check out was off. Doubles were elusive. He faltered in the last 16, defeating unseeded Ryan Joyce 4-3.
But when it mattered, Littler pulled precision from his quiver.
Worryingly for the opposition, he too has begun to find his happy place.
“I’ll be honest, I have no nerves,” he said after his quarterfinal victory, beating Nathan Aspinall 5-2.
“I play with absolute confidence and freedom.”
Stephen Bunting was merely the semi-final threshold that accelerated Littler’s momentum. He achieved an average of 105.48, the highest in this year’s competition, defeating the top five in the world 6:1.
Now Michael van Gerwen stands between Littler and darts’ biggest prize, including a £500,000 payout.
The Dutchman is the youngest-ever PDC world champion, having won the title in 2014 at the age of 24.
This period was defined by Van Gerwen’s gigantic tussle with Phil Taylor, a rivalry that greatly fueled the development of darts and won him three world titles.
Littler is the beneficiary, but he added another story to the edifice.
He is already, by some measure, the most famous darts player in the world. Will he be the best player now?
