LUKE LITTLER battled Gian van Veen and a pesky WASP to become World Darts Champion again.
Littler became the first to clinch consecutive titles since Gary Anderson in 2016 with an emphatic 7-1 win over Van Veen at Ally Pally.
But it came after the 18-year-old sensation fended off a wasp attack during the fifth set of the £1million showpiece.
The Ally Pally wasp is infamous around the PDC World Darts Championship.
And it is not Littler’s first encounter with the wasp this year either – with theworld No1 attacked in his first round game.
So Littler, after overcoming both the winged nuisance and Van Veen, came up with his own theory behind the unwanted wasp.
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Littler wins £1million World Darts Championship for second year in a row
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He said: “I say this every year – someone has to put them [wasps] in here! They can’t just appear. No chance.”
Littler,who earned another £1million, dropped to his knees and broke down in tears as he clinched his second World Championship.
He said: “I wasn’t happy going into the break 1-0 down, but I had to kick on from there.
“I said just give it time, you’ll find it. It all came to plan. Gian, what a tournament, he can be very happy for himself.
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“For myself, I was getting closer and closer but you can’t think of it too much. It [the trophy] is right next to you on stage but you’ve just got to keep going.”
Littler, whose career earnings will now surpass £3m, said: “It is life-changing. Even for this tournament, the first round was doubled.
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“This win has increased that gap from Luke Humphries and I’m in the clear for No1.”
Darts fans can look forward to years of rivalry between Littler and Van Veen, 23, with the two equally as excited.
Littler said: “We are always going to have battles. The Pro Tour, Euro Tour, majors.
“Maybe we might come back here in the final in 2027! We will play so many times and he knows he’s in the Premier League, so we will battle week in, week out.
Van Veen added: “With us two, Josh Rock and Wessel Nijman, the young boys are here.
“We are trying to take over the guard. Even Luke Humphries is a young guy. This game is for the young players and we are here to show how it’s done.”