LONDON -- Luke Littler became the first man since Gary Anderson in 2016 to defend his World Darts Championship title as he thrashed Gian van Veen 7-1 in Saturday's final at Alexandra Palace.
Littler's triumph saw him pocket a cheque for £1 million -- double the amount he earned for lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time last year.
It was felt that the Alexandra Palace crowd could be in for an all-time classic as Littler finally came up against a player capable of matching his scoring, but Van Veen was short of his brilliant best and proved no match for the 18-year-old sensation.
Van Veen did win the first set, but it just served to kick Littler into gear and 'The Nuke' rattled off leg after leg, repeatedly coming close to produce a nine-dart finish, as the match escaped the Dutchman's grasp in double quick time.
An appearance from the infamous Ally Pally wasp midway through the contest only served to delay the inevitable as Littler joined Anderson, Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis as one of only four men to win back-to-back world titles.
With an average of almost 106, 15 maximums and a 'Big Fish' 170 checkout, this was one of the great final performances.
He has been a tour de force over the last year, winning five of the last six major tournaments, and looks set for an era-defining period of domination similar to what Taylor enjoyed.
Even though the final was not the close contest people were expecting, Van Veen has emerged as a serious contender and Luke Humphries is still his number one rival, but Littler has been virtually unbeatable in all of the big tournaments.
Certainly there is no one to match him over the longer contests. He suffocates his opponents with his relentless scoring and his ability to go through the gears and deliver a golden spell means he is always in every match.
That is what he did to Van Veen, who fell at the final hurdle in his breakout competition.
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The 23-year-old beat former champions Humphries and Anderson en route to the final but this was a match too far.
Van Veen was beaten up by an unforgiving Littler and he left a blood mark on the board after cutting his hand.
Still, Van Veen is the new world number three despite falling just short in his quest to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen by winning the World Championship.
But his performance over the course of the competition has proved he will operate at the top of the sport alongside Littler for many years.
It should be no surprise that these two contested the youngest-ever final at the World Championship as the pair met in the World Youth Championship two years ago, with Littler's victory kickstarting his journey to the top of the sport, where he looks set to finish for some time.
Information from PA was used in this report.