"The winning moment seemed to drain all the strength from his body. He leaned against the drinks table and let it take all his weight, clasped his face in his hands, cried a little. As if only just feeling the shape and hue of the unspeakable thing he had just done. As if some great act of violence had just left his hands. Perhaps it had."
"There was blood on the board and a wasp on the oche, but nothing could throw him off balance. And perhaps the unique genius of Littler is the ability to locate the effortless state that produces great darts and to live in it, breathe in it, turn those seven feet of pure windless air into his home and his castle."
Luke Littler reacted emotionally after his winning moment, leaning on the drinks table and crying as if absorbing the enormity of his achievement. He rose from obsessive devotion to darts and deep knowledge of the game's heritage. He dismantled Gian van Veen 7-1 in just over 40 minutes, demonstrating dominance over the longest format and highest pressure. Nothing, including blood on the board or a wasp on the oche, unsettled him. Littler consistently finds an effortless state that yields both relentless consistency and decisive big moments. Tournament averages read: 102, 97, 107, 107, 100, 105, 106.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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