Luke Littler speaks about being the best and continuing to aim high after retaining the Grand Slam of Darts in thrilling final

Luke Littler was the big winner in Wolverhampton after walking away from the Grand Slam of Darts with the Eric Bristow Trophy and £150,000 in prize money after a 16-  win over Luke Humphries.

It was a final full of thrills, big scores, high checkouts and plenty of excitement for the capacity crowd, who were treated to a lengthy final after several years of blow-out finals.

It followed on from his 16-9 victory in the semi-final earlier in the day against Danny Noppert, with six 180s and a high checkout of 145 sending him into the evening session in good spirits and good form.

It was a final with a lot of twists and turns as the two best players in the world traded maximums, with the crowd constantly cheering as the legs flew by, and the win by Littler came after getting on a roll and winning seven of the last nine legs.

The accuracy on display from both players was of a high standard, with a high percentage of doubles being hit, while Luke Littler also threatened to hit a nine-dart-finish on several occasions as the contest went on and hit a high checkout of 167, with a 160 checkout also raising the roof.

After a very one-sided final in 2024, where Luke Littler beat Martin Lukeman 16 legs to three, it was a much closer contest, with both players hitting high three-dart averages across the final, but Littler just kept pummelling the board with high scores.

After finishing with a 96 checkout to win the match and take home the trophy for the second year in a row, Littler said the day, with two matches played in close proximity, had been a tough one, but said he was happy to retain the Grand Slam and also become the World Number One ranked player.

He said: "It was a tough job getting up this morning and playing in the afternoon and no one likes it, but those are the games we've got to get through and Danny played his part in a brilliant game.

"I managed to get over the line and I knew I was number one, then I focussed on the final, where Luke played amazingly and I said to myself when I won it and went over to my table that it was a weird, weird game, but I'm glad to win back to back.

"It was always going to be close as Luke and I are never going to run away with anything and it's always going to be close."

Littler also said the win gave him great momentum heading towards the Players Championships Finals in Minehead next weekend and the World Championships at Alexandra Palace in London in December. 

He spoke about how the tournament suited him and said he looked forward to the prospect of potentially facing Luke Humphries again at the World Championships, but was still focussed on his game.

He said: "It's a special feeling as it's been a tremendous nine days and the hard work has paid off and I can go home as champion.

"This tournament is like a little Champions League knockout and, obviously, to win all three games and remain unbeaten is great, then when the longer format comes into play, that's when you see the best of me.

"If it all goes to plan at Alexandra Palace, then Luke and I will meet in the final, but we've got Minehead next week and I've got a few exhibitions, so I'll just keep the arm going and then focus on the Worlds.

"Luke and I have done the same in titles and now I've got the World Number One spot and he wants it back, so we're going to be battling even more and keep playing well as he wants it back and I don't want to give it away, so people are going to see a lot of great games."

Following nine days of tough competition, Littler took a moment to thank the fans who had been there all week to watch the tournament, saying that it made the tournament extra special.

He said: "I know that last year, they were very helpful for me, especially in the Mike de Decker game when I was trailing, then Mike starting missing and I started coming back and got the win over Mike.

"The crowd here have been nice for the past two years and I still haven't lost a game, so long may it continue here in Wolverhampton."