Luke Littler’s fairytale journey to his first-ever PDC World Darts Championship final may have come to a disappointing end after a 7-4 defeat to world no.1 Luke Humphries, but his humble post-match interview proved exactly why so many have already fallen in love with him.
The 16-year-old darting sensation fell just shy of the World title despite putting on yet another incredible display and even going two sets clear of ‘Cool Hand’ at one point in the match, but beyond his obvious natural affinity for the game, it’s his persona on and off the stage that has once again endeared fans.
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Abigail Davies in the aftermath of his thrilling final — on his World Championship debut, no less — Littler said the “only negative” is that he “lost too many legs” with his own third darts and let the other Luke break his throw on one too many occasions.
Regardless, he said his maiden tournament has been “unbelievable”, insisting that “every game’s been good” and that he’s simply chuffed to now be in the top 32 in the world and have graduated to the pro tour so early in his career.
‘He doesn’t need to develop’ is the kind of cheeky little comment that fans have enjoyed over the past couple of weeks.
Still brimming with pride in himself and clearly focusing on the incredible achievement of being the youngest player in history to reach the final rather than the more immediate sting of falling at the final hurdle, the teenager was just happy to receive such high praise from both his opponent and the crowd as they serenaded him with, “there’s only one Luke Littler!”.
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Humphries had nothing but good things to say of his young adversary, insisting that “Luke has been an unbelievable talent. Not just on the dartboard: he has been fantastic with all the media, and he took defeat so well there.”
The 28-year-old went on to add that he simply had to win this time because “he’s going to dominate world darts soon”, adding, “You will never see another 16-year-old kid like him. He’s something else. He’s one of the finest players in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”
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While most people his age might have let the atmosphere and the emotion get the better of him, he continued to keep the same cool, calm and composed attitude that he exhibited throughout the competition deep into the post-match interviews.
Starting off his post-match presser by saying “I haven’t lost much [on that stage]” and that “you can’t be angry at yourself” for making it to a final, he said that his aim was only ever to “win one game” and that the support he’s received across the nation ever since his opening round victory has been “crazy”.
As well as having the presence of mind to sit and analyse where he went wrong, he also showed a level of grace and gratitude not only for getting to this point in the first place but even while fielding the media’s questions, giving detailed answers and thanking journalists for their time — a trait some of the best and most senior athletes in the world still haven’t mastered.
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Humble, confident and unquestionably skilled in equal measure? Yeah, this lad is going to go far.
Even if, as he said, he doesn’t get to another final for another five or ten years, this talented teen from Warrington has already made a huge impact on darts culture and helped attract a whole new generation of fans with his first TV appearance.
Featured Images — Sky Sports (via X)/TungstenTales (via YouTube)
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Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
Had it not been for that injury I know he would’ve been class for City for a long time, and let’s not forget that goal v Newcastle pic.twitter.com/inGxi5UjPM
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Danny Jones -
4th January 2024 
