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Sky Sports darts presenter Polly James believes Luke Littler has made Alexandra Palace and Blackpool’s Winter Gardens ‘his home’ ahead of the forthcoming Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
The 19-year-old goes to ‘Ally Pally’ next month, looking to make it a hat-trick of world titles after winning the 2024/25 and 2025/26 events.
That made Littler the fourth player to retain the PDC world title and the first to do so since Gary Anderson in 2016.
He followed that up with a second consecutive Betfred World Matchplay title at the Winter Gardens in July.
That win meant, again, he was only the fourth player to claim back-to-back wins and the first in a decade since Michael van Gerwen.
Speaking to Leasing Options, James said: “The main thing is that when Luke is on it - and let’s remember, Ally Pally is Luke’s town, that is Luke’s home - the Ally Pally crowd love Luke.
“When Luke has got the crowd behind him, he just feels unstoppable.
“It’s really interesting now. This is such a gruelling part of the season, there’s still so much to play for.
“There are still so many stories, so many narratives, and so many champions who can win. Luke Littler and Ally Pally, there’s just something special about that combination.
“He’s done the same thing in Blackpool. Back in the day, Blackpool used to be Phil Taylor’s town and I think now it's Littler’s town.
“He’s got that spell over the Winter Gardens, where it’s his domain, and I think he’s got the same with Ally Pally.”