Humphries has now won four of the past five major televised tournaments in the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation).

Littler’s progress on his World Championship debut has captured the public’s imagination in the past three weeks and he produced another exceptional, composed performance in the final.

However, Humphries’ brilliance ensured the youngster fell just short of completing what would have been an amazing sporting fairytale.

Littler said: “The one negative was I lost too many legs on my throw, so Luke would break me, then hold and I’d be 2-0 down [in the set].

“Fair play to Luke, he deserves it.

“I’ve got to the final, I might not get to another final for the next five to 10 years, we don’t know, but I can say I’m a runner-up and now I just want to go and win it,” added Littler, who has climbed more than 130 places into the world’s top 32.

Humphries appeared to settle the quicker of the two finalists as the first four sets were shared, with Littler finding his range by landing finishes of 142 and 120 in the second.

The teenager took the fifth to lead for the first time and appeared to have his more experienced opponent on the ropes when he raced through the sixth set.

But Humphries gained impetus from a 170 finish at the start of the seventh and never looked back, levelling the match with a 121 checkout on the bull and taking a 5-4 lead with a 12-dart leg against the throw.

Littler hit a 170 checkout of his own in the 10th set, but Humphries held his nerve, sinking to his knees after landing a shot at double eight to clinch the biggest win of his career.

Humphries hit 23 maximums and averaged 103.67 in the final, compared with Littler’s 13 180s and 101.13 average.