Littler fairytale ended by Humphries in PDC World Championship final
Luke Humphries - now the world number one - has added darts' ultimate prize to the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals titles he's already picked up in the past few months.
Littler battled hard and led the match by two sets at one stage, but was unable to cope with the experience and relentless 180-hitting power of Humphries.
Humphries started the fastest and had raced to the first set before Littler eventually found his stride, with the teenager winning the next.
Humphries would again take control at 2-1 but Littler then went on a stunning three-set streak to make it 4-2.
It was at this point Humphries turned up the heat, taking multiple huge checkouts and capitalising on his opponent's treble-less visits to turn the tide and eventually roll on to a 7-4 victory.
Humphries threw a staggering 23 180s during the contest, averaging over 103.
Littler himself landed 13 180s with a very strong 101 average, but it was not enough to stop the might of his dominant opponent.
Both players also threw out a spectacular array of ton-plus finishes and a 170 'big fish' each, while Humphries impressed with back-to-back identical 108 checkouts.
Humphries was adamant that Littler would be back to dominate the sport and was glad to beat the 16-year-old on the night:
"I cannot put into words how great this feels," Humphries told Sky Sports after being crowned world champion.
"In the back of my mind throughout today I was thinking 'get this one now because he is going to dominate world darts soon'.
"He's an incredible player and when I was on the brink of winning he was so relentless. I was really proud of the performance there.
"He's an incredible talent and I had to win this one tonight and he's going to win plenty I'm sure.
Humphries has been the in-form player heading into the tournament and stated his intention to keep winning titles.
"I'll draw a lot from this and this will be a moment that will never be forgotten," he added.
"I don't want to say that I've completed darts but everything that you want the resume I've done now, so now it's now about motivating yourself to do more and more.
"Now I want to be double world champion and win loads of majors."
Littler - who has captured the attention of the world and brought legions of new fans to the sport during his stunning run to the final - was gracious in defeat, perhaps in small part as he was now £200,000 richer.
"It has been unbelievable. The one negative was I lost too many legs with my throw so Luke could break me," the youngster told Sky Sports.
"That was the only negative, I just couldn't hold my own throw and I didn't win.
"Every game has been good but that one has just really annoyed me, especially the three missed to keep it going.
"That's what the crowd wanted but fair play to Luke, he deserves it."
Having entered the tournament for the first time ranked 164th in the world, Littler now moves up 31st in the rankings.
