Luke Littler demolished Michael van Gerwen to become PDC World Darts champion at the age of just 17 - and emotion was plain to see on his face.
Teenage star Littler has become the youngest ever champion of the event, 12 months after losing to Luke Humphries in the 2024 final. He broke down in tears as the gravity of the situation became clear, before composing himself and collecting the trophy from Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy.
Littler made an early statement, winning each of the first four sets before ultimately clinching a 7-3 win. He wins £500,000 for his troubles, and acknowledged the crowd before leaving the stage.
"The baton has been passed," Dan Dawson said during Sky Sports' coverage. "This generations special talent beats the great Michael van Gerwen. The teenager is the champion of the world aged just 17. He has not just beaten Michael van Gerwen. He has beaten him well."
Reflecting on his win, Littler told Sky Sports: "I can't believe it. We both played so well and I needed to get off to a quick start and that's what I done. He was right behind me the whole way through.
"Everyone dreams of winning this trophy. I can't believe it," he added. "That first game against Ryan Meikle is the one that really mattered. After that, I really settled.
"[At]2-0 up [against Van Gerwen] I started getting nervous. But I just said to myself to relax."
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Littler's victory rounded off a whirlwind 12 months for the youngster, who was crowned Premier League Darts champion back in May. And he didn't just win the world title at Ally Pally - he did it while preventing some of the world's best from even coming close to him.
He got past Ryan Meikle in the second round, averaging 100 in the process, before Ian White was overcome by a 4-1 scoreline. His biggest test came in round four, with a narrow 4-3 victory over Ryan Joyce, but no one else got as close.
Littler dashed Nathan Aspinall's hopes at the quarter-final stage with a 5-2 victory and averaged over 105 to claim a 6-1 semi-final win against Stephen Bunting. Van Gerwen did what he could in the final, but was no match for the unstoppable Littler.
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Littler also won the Ballon d'Art, which goes to the player with the most 180s across the tournament. Van Gerwen congratulated the youngster after falling short, and reflected on his own game after failing to add to his three world titles.
"I come 4-0 behind and after that I didn't do myself justice but that's the way it is," the Dutchman told Sky Sports. "You need to try and fight and battle back but after coming back from 4-0 down I definitely not the worst player out of us but fair play to him. Every moment he got to hurt me, he did.
"I sometimes say every 17 years a star gets born and he's one of them. Don't get me wrong I had a lovely tournament.
"I've been battling my own game but that's how it was. You have to take it on the chin and take it as a champion. It hurts but that's how it should be. It is what it is."
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Reflecting on his victory, Littler explained his experience in 2024 helped him this time around. "I learned a lot," he said. Last year in the semis against Rob Cross, that was the first time I was 1-0 down, and then obviously against Luke [Humphries[.
"But tonight and throughout the tournament, I just needed to get off to a quick start. Earlier today, I watched all of the game back against Luke and I had the visions."
When asked what might come next in 2025, he added: "Anything. I could end 2025 winning absolutely nothing, but I've picked up the best [prize]. I want to get more than 10 titles this year, but if I end 2025 with nothing, I've picked the big one up."
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