THE World Darts Championship final between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler was the most watched non-football event in Sky Sports history with an audience of 3.75 MILLION.
British sports fans from across the country tuned in to watch World No1 Luke Humphries beat 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler 7-4 at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday evening.
Luke Humphries beat Luke Littler to claim his first world title on WednesdayGetty
And The Mail have now confirmed it was Sky Sports‘ biggest viewership for a sporting event aside from football.
Littler, making his debut at the world championships, peaked a swarm of new fans’ interest in the competition.
He made history on the oche by beating 2018 champion Rob Cross to become the youngest ever player to reach the final.
And more history was made on the screen as the semi-final clash broke the record for Sky Sports’ most-watched darts match with 2.3m viewers.
But 24 hours later, Littler’s defeat to Humphries saw the record broken again by more than one million.
And the massive audience were treated to a superb contest between the top-rated player in the world and his teenage wonderkid opponent.
Littler whipped up the crowd by storming into a 4-2 lead as the fairytale triumph looked set to become a reality.
But Humphries roared back, rattling off five successive sets to claim a 7-4 victory and his first world title.
After the epic clash, Littler was gracious in defeat as he insisted he was happy with finishing second.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Warrington sensation said: “It’s been unbelievable.
“I’m happy. I’m in the top-32 [in the world] and I finished runner-up in my debut. It’s unbelievable.”
Meanwhile, Humphries collapsed in a heap as he broke out in tears after a double eight checkout to win the final.
And his girlfriend was also an emotional wreck as she watched on from the front row.
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