Luke Littler cruised into the World Darts Championship final with a ruthless victory over Stephen Bunting, who showed plenty of fight but was unable to prevent his rival from securing a one-sided 6-1 triumph.
The Nuke was simply a cut above for the vast majority of the contest, averaging 105.80 and hitting 13 maximums. He will be looking to carry his momentum into Friday’s showdown with Michael van Gerwen on the biggest stage of all.
He will be the favourite to secure the honours at the second time of asking following his defeat to Luke Humphries in last year’s final, an event which captivated the world and thrust darts back into the limelight.
Littler nearly made a perfect start against Bunting, only just failing to land a 180 with his first three darts. It was a sign of things to come, with the 17-year-old staying strong to draw first blood despite conceding two legs.
There was a lack of quality at times in set two, with both players missing doubles they would usually expect to hit. It eventually went the way of Littler, who nailed D20 at the first time of asking to double his advantage.
Littler began to twist the knife in the third set, hitting a 158 checkout to win the opening leg. Bunting responded well by punishing a rare mistake from his rival and forced a decisive leg, which Littler won to move into a healthy lead.
Bunting was in no mood to lie down and accept defeat, but he was powerless to prevent Littler from soaring ahead in spite of his best efforts. It was the same story in the fourth set, with the reigning Premier League champion taking another step closer.
The Bullet threatened a late resurgence by winning the fifth set, breaking Littler’s throw along the way. He nailed a 170 checkout to break again in the sixth but missed a golden opportunity to claim the set, with Littler taking full advantage.
The teenage superstar remained strong under pressure to break Bunting with a stunning 84 checkout, moving within one set of victory in the process.
He wrapped up the match at the very next opportunity, hitting a 170 checkout in the penultimate leg before taking out D20 to win.
The one-sided nature of his triumph was particularly impressive, given the form Bunting showed on his run to the semi-finals only to be undone with relative ease.
Only time will tell if Littler can follow up by claiming the Sid Waddell Trophy when he renews his rivalry with Van Gerwen on Friday night.