Luke Littler pays £20 to enter local darts event and wins it after World Matchplay woe

Luke Humphries wasn’t the only darts star to enjoy tournament glory on the weekend. The world No.1 continued his remarkable year by beating Michael van Gerwen in the final of the World Matchplay, scooping the £200,000 top prize in the process.

But elsewhere, Luke Littler was also storming to his latest tournament win, albeit with not quite the same prestige or lucrative rewards that Humphries enjoyed in Blackpool.

Instead Littler, who was below par in his own Matchplay campaign as he was beaten by Van Gerwen in the opening round, returned to his roots to compete in his local Cheshire Open event.

The tournament at the Coppenhall Club, open to UKDA, PDC, and non-affiliate players, carried a top cash prize of just £1,000. And that was after Littler and fellow entrants all had to fork out £20 each just to take part.

And to make it a double success, the 17-year-old also prevailed in the warm-up tournament on Saturday, which set him back a further £15. But after making £200,000 for his remarkable run to the World Championship final in January, and a further £275,000 for his Premier League success, it’s fair to assume the fees were within his price range.

The star took to Instagram to post a photo of him holding his cheque and the winner's shield with tournament organisers and seemed to enjoy competing with old friends. Littler was still starring in local events until last year, before he shot to superstardom at Ally Pally.

“Some weekend,” he wrote, along with a dartboard emoji. “Winning the warm-up men’s event and the Cheshire Open men’s singles. Good to see all my fellow teammates from Cheshire.”

Needless to say, Littler would rather have been at Winter Gardens competing for another major title. And after sealing his win, Humphries referenced his rivalry with the sport’s newest star, and backed him to come back stronger.

"Luke's a fantastic player, I can guarantee he'll pick up this trophy one day, I'm just glad I did it first,” he said. "Michael's already done it. Luke will pick it up one day, and I'm sure he's watching at home and proud of his mate. I'm sure he'll want to take it off me next year too, so I'll have to get better and make sure he doesn't."

It’s been a turbulent month for Littler, who also confirmed he has split with girlfriend Eloise Milburn. And he was forced to speak out on social media after Milburn received abusive messages following the split.

“Everyone needs to stop sending hate towards Eloise saying it's her fault and this and that,” he said. “I myself split up with Eloise and everyone just needs give us some time, no need for everyone to message her and give her grief."