Luke Littler vs. Luke Humphries: PDC World Darts Championship Final odds, picks, prediction
Every once in a while the mainstream sporting world will take notice of something extraordinary happening on the fringes. You can expect that to happen on Wednesday afternoon when 16-year-old Luke “The Nuke” Littler takes on “Cool Hand” Luke Humphries in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.
It’s going to be sensational drama and will be worth its weight in gold for an entity like the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation), as they don’t get many opportunities to be the center of the sporting universe. But people -- even those who’ve never watched a second of the darts -- will take notice when a 16-year-old comes from the clouds and makes it to the final of the biggest tournament of the year.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about Littler’s run is that he’s done it in some serious style. Don’t get it wrong the teenager from Runcorn, a town in Northwest England, is a prodigy and everyone knew this was coming -- they just didn’t think it would come this quickly. Littler has made quick work of some serious players, most recently and notably 2018 world champion Rob Cross.
Cross, who was ranked as the No. 8 player in the world before the tournament began a fortnight ago, played a pretty strong game. He averaged 102.8, he had 71 trips of at least 100 and was 41% on his doubles. And that was only good enough to win two sets against Littler’s six. Incredible.
But as strong an opponent as Cross is, Littler will now try to cap this Cinderella Run by defeating World No. 1 Luke Humphries. Like Littler, Humphries was a terrific youth player who was pegged for big things when his time came. Humphries had some strong showings in his first few years on the main tour, but it took until this year for the 28-year-old to take a leap into stardom. Humphries won his first major title at the 2023 Grand Prix and then quickly followed it up with another at the Grand Slam of Darts. Had Littler not burst onto the scene, Humphries would have been the biggest story on Planet Darts in 2023.
Both of these players have tremendous scoring power, but you have to acknowledge that the value is on Humphries in this match. It hasn’t mattered yet, but “Cool Hand” has the edge in experience and has every chance of scoring with Littler. Additionally, the public money will show up on Littler as the opportunity to bet on this kind of Cinderella Story doesn’t come around very often. That influx of casual money should keep Humphries’ price in a very bettable range.
The Bet: Luke Humphries -155
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