Luke Humphries stood and applauded, because, really, what else could he do?

Luke Littler had just thrown nine immaculate darts, each one greeted with a louder roar than the last. The first three landed while some of the crowd were still settling back into their seats after a break, spilling beer as they took their place. But by the end of the next three they were fully invested in the moment, and when Littler stepped back to the oche needing 141, grown men could be seen standing with hands on heads, gloriously bewitched and bewildered, knowing they were about to witness the live workings of teenaged genius.

Triple 20, thud; triple 19, thud. Double 12, thud. For the first time all night, Littler let his concentrated face slip and held his arms out to the delirious crowd with a grin as if to say, well, what did you expect?

Full story from the O2 Arena:

In his interview just after his loss, Luke Humphries said that Littler “was much stronger than I was and he deserved to win”.

“if you look at the season as a whole, he deserved to be Premier League champion.

“It’s been a learning curve for me and for Luke as well. We both played our part in this tournament and I’m really proud to make the final.

“Of course I’m gutted not to win but you can’t win everything. Six out of seven major finals for me now, I can only build on it.

“I’m proud of Luke, everyone knows what I think of him, I love him to bits, he’s a great lad. I hope he enjoys himself and he deserves this moment.”

He finishes by adding that he thinks himself and Littler “are the two greatest players in the world at the moment, and this was another great battle”.

Speaking to Sky after his win, Littler said that it was “so good to win in front of my family, my girlfriend and my manager”.

“I don’t know what to do! “I’ve hit a nine-darter on the World Series and so did Phil [Taylor]. Now I’ve hit one in the final here and so did he.

““I’m just enjoying it. I’ve been practicing really hard and you can probably see it on the oche. I was dead focused, I didn’t want to blink.

“I’m a major winner, I can put myself in that hat now – I can’t wait to go to New York next week and after that I’ll have to have a week off in Orlando.

“I can’t wait to play in all the events. I’ve done so well on the Euro Tour and Pro Tour that I’m guaranteed to be in the Matchplay and Grand Prix.”

On today’s opponent Humphries, he adds that “we’ll meet in many finals”.

Luke Littler’s incredible rise continued as he hit a stunning nine-dart finish on his way to becoming the Premier League champion on debut.

The 17-year-old threw a perfect leg of darts in a thrilling final against Luke Humphries as he gained revenge for his heartbreaking defeat in the World Championship showpiece in January.

Littler became the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in the Premier League final since Phil Taylor did it twice in 2010 and that surely will not be the only time the teenager emulates ‘The Power’ over the next few years on the road to stardom.

He was in tears at the end as he became the sport’s youngest ever major champion by winning its second biggest tournament on his debut, thrilling a record 14,000 fans at London’s O2 Arena with an 11-7 victory over Humphries.

Littler becomes just the eighth Premier League Darts champion since the competition’s inception in 2005.

He joins greats including Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Glen Durrant, Raymond van Barneveld, Jonny Clayton and James Wade.

Humphries will be disappointed to not have made that list tonight, but surely he’ll have plenty more chances.

Shortly after his loss, the world number one said that himself and Littler are “going to have a lot of battles in the future”.

Some shots of a beaming Luke Littler and a disappointed Luke Humphries, who was as gracious as ever in defeat.

Littler was in a half-jubilant, half-defiant mood right after winning the title. The youngster asked ‘where his doubters were’ immediately as he was interviewed.

Luke Littler 11-7 Luke Humphries

Humphries looks like he’ll survive at least one more leg, despite Littler’s 180.

He needs 81 to Littler’s 40, but he only gets 41!

Littler needs double 20 to win…

And he lands it! Luke Littler is the 2024 Premier League champion!

Luke Littler 11-7 Luke Humphries

171 from Littler needs him leaving 98., but he only manages 58.

Humphries has the chance to win the leg with tops, but he only lands the 20!

Littler is within one leg of winning as he lands it!