Luke Littler emphatically beats Martin Lukeman to win first Grand Slam title
The 17-year-old has enjoyed a phenomenal breakout year and held his nerve on a double 6 in the crunch leg to win the famous Eric Bristow Trophy - his first major ranking title - and pocket £150,000 after a thrilling final.
His dominance was particularly evident as, after going two legs down off the starting gun, he rebounded to notch up eight legs on the spin to make it 8-2 in almost no time at all.
The thrashing resumed after the break as Littler eventually made it 15 in a row before Lukeman could claw his third and final leg back.
Littler, the youngest tournament winner, climbs the rankings and becomes the new world number five.
"I was very happy with my performance," Littler told Sky Sports. "The best feeling was when all the confetti came out. This is what we play for.
"The World Championship changed me and changed my performance.
"Now the months have gone on and I'm getting used to it all. I'm going to have to get used to it for a very long time.
"This is one of the ones I wanted to win. My major record isn't the best, but it's ok now.
"I wanted to come here and go deep. It's even better now I've done it."
"How will I celebrate? Go home, play on the XBox for a bit..."
Littler averaged a stunning 107 for the session compared to Lukeman's 93, while The Nuke's 12 180s proved devastating in comparison to his opponent's single maximum.
The 39-year-old Lukeman was looking for the cherry on top of a fairytale run to his maiden ranking televised final but was unable to cope with the pace and clinical finishing of Littler.
Littler hit a total of 60 180s throughout the Grand Slam tournament - a new record for the event - and it marks his 10th tournament win in his debut year as a professional.
The performance was all the more impressive given the energy expended earlier in the day, when Littler overcame a staunch challenge from legend and former world champion Gary Anderson in a thrilling 16-15 battle.
Bookies have now made Littler the odds on favourite to take the PDC World Championship crown when the pinnacle event in the darting calendar kicks off in mid-December.
