Luke Littler thrashes Gian van Veen to clinch back-to-back world titles

Luke Littler overcame the Ally Pally wasp to thrash Gian van Veen and cement his position as one of the greats of the sport after winning back-to-back World Championship titles.

The 18-year-old joins Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson in winning successive crowns and he is the new king of Alexandra Palace.

Littler burst onto the scene with an epic debut run to the final two years ago and has not lost on that stage since after a masterful 7-1 win over Van Veen, which earned him a record £1million prize cheque.

With an average of almost 106, 15 maximums and a ‘Big Fish’ 170 checkout, this was one of the great final performances.

He has been a tour de force over the last year, winning five of the last six major tournaments, and looks set for an era-defining period of domination similar to what Taylor enjoyed.

Indeed, his biggest obstacle on a trouble-free night was the reappearance of the Ally Pally wasp, who made a beeline for Littler in the fourth set, causing a short delay while both players and referee George Noble swatted it away.

Even though the final was not the close contest people were expecting, Van Veen has emerged as a serious contender and Luke Humphries is still his number one rival, but Littler has been virtually unbeatable in all of the big tournaments.

He has become the first man to retain his Ally Pally title since Anderson a decade ago.

Certainly there is no one to match him over the longer contests. He suffocates his opponents with his relentless scoring and his ability to go through the gears and deliver a golden spell means he is always in every match.

That is what he did to Van Veen, who fell at the final hurdle in his breakout competition.

The 23-year-old beat former champions Humphries and