Teenage kicks - what makes history-making Littler so good?

"Every 17 years a prima is born."

That was the praise lavished connected Luke Littler by his beaten rival Michael van Gerwen aft the 17-year-old became darts' youngest satellite champion.

Littler crushed the Dutchman 7-3 successful the PDC World Championship last to headdress disconnected an unthinkable 12 months successful which helium has helped the sport's illustration rocket and go a household name.

So, what makes him truthful good? We look astatine the operation of mindset, accomplishment and endowment that has taken 'The Nuke' to the precise top.

Darts is simply a athletics wherever you conscionable cannot spend nerves to get to you - a tremble is often the extremity of a treble.

What sets Littler isolated from his rivals is the information helium has been capable to maestro indispensable calmness astatine specified a young property - and amid an detonation of involvement successful the athletics and him arsenic a nonstop effect of his accomplishment connected the large signifier a twelvemonth ago.

"It's similar h2o disconnected a duck's backmost really, the mode helium conscionable benignant of takes it each successful his stride," sports scientist and erstwhile women's satellite fig 1 darts subordinate Dr Linda Duffy told BBC Sport.

"It's astir similar he's not truly 100% definite of what's going connected astir him. He's successful that benignant of bubble wherever he's conscionable reasoning astir what helium needs to do, which is fantastic.

"He's surely precise cool, calm and collected nether pressure.

"What a batch of radical who don't play darts don't recognize is however hard it is to play. You've got each this adrenaline, each the emotions whirling circular wrong you and you person to enactment arsenic dependable arsenic a stone to propulsion that dart decently astatine the target."

Littler admitted helium had felt tense aft going 2-0 up successful Friday's last but told himself to "just relax".

The lone clip helium has truly fto immoderate pent-up emotions spill implicit successful the past twelvemonth was aft his opening triumph implicit Ryan Meikle past month, erstwhile helium became tearful during his post-match interrogation and sought retired hugs from his parents.

It was, perhaps, 1 of the fewer times helium has looked much similar his age.

His manner distant from the oche, though, is overmuch much successful enactment with plentifulness of teenagers - video games, football, accelerated nutrient - and it is this that could besides beryllium playing a portion successful his intelligence strength, according to Duffy.

"This each helps him erstwhile it comes to having to header with unit due to the fact that helium knows however to unbend and get immoderate downtime in," she said.

Littler's intelligence attack is founded connected a "very heavy and implicit trust" successful his ability, according to sports scientist Martin Perry.

"What he's doing each the time, he's trying to fine-tune the feeling to get into the prime of absorption and attraction wherever it feels similar everything's happening automatically," helium said. "You're playing unconscious darts and you're scoring large and making checkouts.

"Luke's calmness is truly invaluable successful allowing him to enactment successful a bubble of high-focus concentration, which means helium tin repetition high-scoring sequences regularly."

It is Littler's scoring powerfulness erstwhile nether unit which has stood retired successful this tournament.

If trebles are for amusement and doubles for dough, helium has some bases covered.

Even that uncommon bout of nerves successful the 3-1 triumph implicit Meikle culminated successful him creating much history.

The teen was successful tears done a substance of alleviation and restitution aft hitting a grounds 140.91 acceptable mean – taking 32 darts to implicit the set, erstwhile the minimum imaginable is 27.

His gait of play and changeable selection, sometimes taking an alternate way to the norm, has adjacent caught retired seasoned darts 'spotters' connected TV sum arsenic they alert directors to the adjacent camera angle.

He deed 4 nine-darters past year, including successful the Premier League last – 1 of 10 titles successful his debut nonrecreational play – and revels successful taking retired the highest imaginable checkout of 170, a crowd-pleasing treble 20, treble 20 and bullseye known arsenic 'The Big Fish'.

Littler is lethal connected treble 10, which besides acts arsenic a back-up changeable if helium misses treble tops, portion others mightiness similar treble 8 oregon 16 connected the other broadside of the board.

Despite his speedy thinking, helium has admitted to being "terrible" astatine maths astatine school.

"It's conscionable the longer you practise, the quicker you get to cognize checkouts, scoring and finishing up and laying up your shots and you cognize what to spell for. So the much you play, the much you get utilized to it," helium said.

There has been plentifulness of play, having started throwing magnetic darts aged conscionable 18 months and moving to a due committee by the property of five.

Despite his young age, Littler was lone the seventh subordinate to scope back-to-back PDC satellite finals.

And aft competing successful 2 tournaments astatine Alexandra Palace, lone 7 different players person much 100-plus averages successful matches.

He has won 12 of his 13 matches connected the biggest stage, hitting the three-dart ton fig successful 10 of those.

Last year, helium smashed the wide grounds for maximum 180s, hitting a full of 771 since the past World Championship concluded to apical Michael Smith's people of 714 successful 2022.

He has comfortably deed the astir 180s successful this year's competition, with 64 earlier the last being 5 much than the combined full of chap semi-finalists Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting.

"He truly is simply a enactment of caller air, and he's fixed maine the enthusiasm to ticker darts again due to the fact that I didn't ticker it for a fewer years aft I retired, I wasn't interested," 16-time satellite champion Phil Taylor told BBC Radio Four.

Littler has said successful the past that helium does not practise much, sometimes grooming for arsenic small arsenic 20-30 minutes a day.

But that does not mean helium has not enactment successful the hours to get to wherever helium is and marque the astir of his earthy talent.

"He's spent thousands of hours losing against seasoned campaigners successful darts and region players," his erstwhile manager Karl Holden said, erstwhile asked what had made Littler truthful good.

"You request to larn to win, and to triumph you've got to larn to lose, and erstwhile you suffer you don't similar it. That's erstwhile you commencement winning."

Duffy besides pointed to those hours arsenic being 1 of the keys to Littler's calmness.

"They accidental 'oh Luke Littler is truthful young, he's truthful good, he's lone 17'. We've seen footage of him playing darts since helium could hardly walk... truthful he's been playing darts for astir 15 years," she said.

"As soon arsenic helium was aged capable to spell into inferior tournaments, improvement circuit tournaments, his parents fto him spell and play. He's got a wealthiness of experience, though he's lone young.

"People deliberation he's conscionable walked retired of his beforehand country and, you know, gone to the Ally Pally signifier and he's beating everyone. It isn't truly that, determination has been a build-up to this point.

"The much you play, the much you larn to power your nerves."

Littler's travel astatine past year's PDC World Championship captured the public's imagination, with the last becoming the most-watched sports lawsuit extracurricular shot successful Sky Sports' 34-history.

A media whirlwind ensued, endorsements soon followed and youngsters began picking up arrows astatine a accelerated rate.

He firmly took the limelight from those astatine the apical of the sport, with satellite fig 1 Luke Humphries joking radical kept realising they were talking to the 'wrong Luke' erstwhile speaking to him.

Littler earned much than £1m successful prize wealth past twelvemonth successful a trophy-laden play but appears to person remained grounded - adjacent if his eyes widened considerably portion helium took successful the announcement of the £500,000 prize helium banked connected Friday.

"It sounds a spot cliche but the household volition ne'er hide wherever they've travel from. He's earned a batch of wealth truly accelerated but has his feet firmly connected the floor," said Garry Plummer, the brag of sponsors Target Darts, who archetypal signed a woody with Littler's household erstwhile helium was aged 12.

"There are 2 Luke Littlers. He's quiescent and he's humble, and past helium gets connected that signifier and helium wants to entertain. He's similar a seasoned pro."

Darts ne'er stops - meaning Littler has plentifulness of accidental to adhd to his increasing silverware collection. Here are the dates for your diary:

Masters: 30 January-2 February

Premier League: 6 February-29 May

UK Open: 28 February-2 March

World Cup of Darts: 12-15 June

World Matchplay: 19-27 July

World Grand Prix: 6-12 October

European Championship: 23-26 October

Grand Slam of Darts: 8-16 November

Players Championship Finals: 21-23 November