It was an emotional, and seemingly inevitable, weekend for teenage darts phenom Luke Littler.

The 17-year-old defeated Michael van Gerwen, one of the game’s greatest players, 7-3 in the PDC World Darts Championship final on Friday night to become the youngest world champion in the history of the sport.

Littler, whose meteoric rise from virtual unknown to megastar in the tournament one year ago led to viral fame, broke down in tears after the final toss that earned him the trophy.

“I can’t believe it, honestly, I can’t believe it,” Littler, who turns 18 later this month, told Sky Sports after the match.

Littler’s win capped off a year for the record books for the teenager, who took the sporting world by storm at last year’s world championship when he made it to the finals as an unranked and relatively unknown competitor. The then-16 year old won the hearts of the darts world with his charmingly blissful, youthful attitude, telling interviewers his preparation for the global tournament included nothing more than eating pizza and playing video games.

Related: 16-Year-Old Luke Littler Has Taken World Darts Championship by Storm After Making Final Round: ‘It’s Crazy’

A nonchalant attitude with talent to back it up, Littler lost the 2024 PDC World Championship but signed a deal to become a professional player days after the tournament, and went on to win 10 championships in his rookie year.

“I learned a lot,” Littler said about the 2023 tournament, in which he defeated former world champion Rob Cross to reach the finals before losing to World No. 1 Luke Humphries to end his dream run.

Littler finished the Cinderella story on Friday night, however, becoming the youngest player ever to win the sport’s world championship by seven years. The teenager defeated the 35-year-old van Gerwen, a three-time world champion who previously held the record for winning the PDC World Darts Championship at the age of 24 in 2014.

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The symbolic final on Friday night not only acted as a passing of the torch between players, but of a generation in the darts world, according to The Guardian.

“I sometimes say every 17 years a star gets born, and he’s one of them,” van Gerwen told Sky Sports after the match. “He deserved it. He played well.”

Related: 16-Year-Old Luke Littler Defeated in World Darts Championship Final: 'He's an Incredible Player'

Littler has won roughly $1.4 million over the last year and has now climbed to the No. 2 world ranking behind Humphries following the world championship victory.

“I could end 2025 winning absolutely nothing [else and I’d be satisfied],” Littler told Sky Sports after winning the world title. “I’ve picked the big one up.”

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