The biggest World Darts Championship in history did not disappoint, and neither did the phalanx of photographers who captured the drama that unfolded throughout more than three weeks of action.
A total of 128 players took to the oche over the course of 24 days, roared on by a jubilant crowd of revellers who, as always, turned out in their very best fancy dress for the occasion.
While in many ways, the more eclectic nature of the player pool made it a tournament of firsts, it was also the last to be held in the Alexandra Palace's West Hall. The event will be moving to the larger Great Hall in an effort to accommodate even more fans as darts' popularity continues to grow.
Fancy dress has long been almost compulsory for this tournament and so it was again as crowds dressed in all manner of costumes, including slices of pepperoni pizza, headed up the hill towards the Alexandra Palace searching for fun.
- Best fancy dress at Alexandra Palace
Paul Lim, 'the Singapore Slinger', is a legend of the World Darts Championship, and so his first-round win at the age of 71 was one of the highlights of the first round.
Nitin Kumar became the first person from India to win a match on the biggest stage of all and spoke of his dream of bringing the sport to the country's enormous population.
Perhaps the most unsightly scene of the tournament came on its fifth day when Cameron Menzies caused a nasty cut on his right hand by repeatedly punching a drinks table after losing his first-round match to debutant Charlie Manby.
The Ally Pally wasp's annual appearance is always a delight (apart from for the players) and it was in particularly energetic mood this year, stealing the spotlight on multiple occasions as it harassed the likes of Chris Dobey, Nathan Aspinall and even Littler in the final.
- Wasps at the World Darts Championship: How insect caused a buzz at Ally Pally
After a couple of days of drama, the good times returned when David Munyua, a Kenyan veterinarian, beat 18th seed Mike De Decker in one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history.
Beau Greaves is widely considered the best female darts player of all time, but after a valiant effort, she fell short against world No. 22 Daryl Gurney.
Ricky Evans' walk-ons are always a sight to behold, and this particularly festive one on Dec. 22 was no different.
Two-time champion Peter Wright had been in rotten form heading into the tournament and he was a shadow of his former self in a second-round defeat to debutant Arno Merk.
The World Championship is always associated with the festive period and the Ally Pally crowd showed plenty of Christmas spirit.
Stephen Bunting's "Titanium" walk-on has taken on a life of its own and turned 'The Bullet' into a superstar on social media.
- Stephen Bunting brings the heart, then plays the hits at Alexandra Palace
The great question of our time was debated when the crowds returned after the three-day Christmas break.
The period between Christmas and the New Year is when the tournament always gets serious. Several top players unexpectedly fell by the wayside and World No. 2 Luke Humphries almost became the latest high-profile casualty, and he looked exhausted after eventually getting the better of Gabriel Clemens.
Jermaine Wattimena came up short in a thrilling third-round clash with two-time champion Gary Anderson. At one point, the Dutchman stood in disbelief after Anderson refused to lie down and accept defeat.
Ricky Evans pulled out all the stops for his meeting with Manby in the fourth round.
Justin Hood's dream of opening a Chinese restaurant was one of the stories of the tournament and his shock run to the quarterfinals, combined with a colourful stage presence, saw him rise from relative unknown to fan favourite.
- Justin Hood closes in on Chinese restaurant dream
Nathan Aspinall was devastated after being beaten 4-3 by Kevin Doets.
The New Year saw some of the Ally Pally crowd continuing their bad habits...
A fiery match over Rob Cross aside, Littler was relatively untested heading into the semifinal stage. But he kicked into gear against Ryan Searle, averaging more than 105 in a 6-1 win.
Gian van Veen is one of the coming forces in the sport, and he reached the final after beating veteran Anderson in one of the all-time classic World Championship matches that featured one of the best sets ever seen.
- Battle-hardened Gian van Veen prepares to weather the Luke Littler storm
In the end, there was nobody who could match Littler's prowess behind the oche and the 18-year-old cruised through the final to become the first man to win consecutive titles since Anderson did so in 2016.
- Luke Littler double-stamps his greatness with back-to-back titles