Luke Littler insists he wants to ‘conquer’ the sport after emulating his darting idol Phil Taylor with a historic Betfred World Matchplay triumph on Sunday.
The teenage wonderkid shattered a host of records on his way to victory at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, defeating James Wade 18-13 to clinch the £200,000 top prize.
Littler subsequently succeeded Wade in becoming the youngest winner of the World Matchplay, after the left-hander won the title as a 24-year-old back in 2007.
The Warrington sensation also landed a record-breaking 64 maximums throughout the event, shattering the previous record of 56 held by two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis.
Despite boasting a staggering tournament average of 105.12, Littler was forced to overturn five-leg deficits in three of his five matches, recovering from 7-2 down against Jermaine Wattimena in round two.
The World Champion then came roaring back from 5-0 adrift to topple Josh Rock in an epic semi-final showdown, producing THE most perfect leg to ignite a stunning fightback.
Littler also found himself trailing 5-0 in Sunday’s showpiece against 2007 champion Wade, but he wasn’t to be denied, averaging 107.24 and firing in 17 maximums to lift the iconic Phil Taylor Trophy for the first time.
“This means absolutely everything,” reflected Littler, who also prevailed in thrilling encounters against Ryan Searle and Andrew Gilding at the Empress Ballroom.
“Phil Taylor was my idol. He came here and won it 16 times, and now my name is on that trophy.
“This is the one I wanted, this is the one I’ve practised for. It just goes to show how well I've been playing, and how much effort has been put in.
“I’ve really been tested this week, but I’ve shown my character by getting myself out of difficult situations.”
Littler had not lifted silverware since his UK Open success in March, which ironically culminated with a comprehensive 11-2 victory over Wade.
However, after returning to the winner’s circle in Blackpool, the irrepressible teenager has reiterated his desire to add to his ever-growing haul.
“Obviously I want to conquer everything in this sport, and I've ticked this one off now,” reflected the 18-year-old.
"I want to win one of every major title and then we'll see what happens from there.
"I hadn’t picked up a trophy for a while, and that was obviously on the back of my mind in every tournament I went into, whether that was a European Tour or a ProTour event.
"Now I've picked up a trophy and hopefully I can pick up a few more towards the back end of the year.”
Littler has now moved to £1,500,500 on the Werner Rankings Ladder following his World Matchplay success, after joining the illustrious list of players to claim that title alongside the World Championship and Premier League.
Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries are the only other players to achieve the feat, with Littler accomplishing it in just over 18 months on the professional circuit.
Littler is now less than £300,000 adrift of Humphries on the Werner Rankings Ladder, and he has the world number one spot firmly in sights leading into the second half of the season.
"I've looked at the rankings - I’m provisionally number one for the World Championship if Luke doesn't defend all that prize money,” observed Littler.
"I'd love to be world number one, but we'll just have to find out. For myself, I’ll just try and add more money to my rankings.
"I think if you're number one then you are the best, no matter if you go out of tournaments early, but until I’m number one, I will never say I’m the best player in the world.”