Luke Littler was odds on favourite to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy again ahead of the 2026 World Darts Championship with an air of inevitability about his second world title.
The 18-year-old was rarely on the back foot as he dropped just four sets in the whole tournament - the lowest number for a world champion since Phil Taylor in 2010.
To create that feeling of 'you can give him the trophy now' is rare, in any sport, but is Littler getting to that stage already? Still at just 18 years old, let's not forget.
"Luke has just got these levels under pressure," said Your Site Darts' Wayne Mardle.
"There is nothing that he can't do on a darts board and there is no situation that you are in, as his opponent, that is safe. You are never safe. Littler is getting to the point where you have never got him."
Littler had a stunning 2025 as he won six of the eight majors, starting with all the way to Players Championship Finals in November.
The teenager has won 37 of his last 38 matches at televised ranking major tournaments and is currently on a 20-match unbeaten streak, with his most recent defeat coming in the second round of the European Championship in October against James Wade.
That level and those numbers have not been seen since Michael van Gerwen in 2017 - a time when the phenomenal Dutchman was being crowned by some as the greatest darts player of all time alongside Phil Taylor.
Of course, he must prove himself again, a point two-time world champion Gary Anderson has stressed, but Littler himself is aware of that.
"I want to be remembered for the titles that I win, the nine-darters I hit and I want to put down a legacy here [at Alexandra Palace]," he said after retaining his world title.
"I want to win so many trophies. There's so many years left."
There are no signs Littler will lift his foot off the gas any time soon, and if his legacy is going to be judged purely on world titles - the longer format only helps him dominate.
He has lost just one of match in his career in contests that have lasted 20 legs and longer, and that was the 2024 World Championship final against Luke Humphries. The longer format almost guarantees he will have an incredible purple patch where he locks in, splatters the treble 20 bed and barely misses a double.
"I think this is what Luke Littler does. All the standards he produces are similar. He normally averages 103, 104, 105 for events," said Mardle.
"Of course, the odd game creeps in with 97 or 98 but then the odd 110 does to counterbalance that. This is his standard and people have to improve. I don't see him regressing."
World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen was hammered 7-1 by Littler and admitted he was "unplayable" in Saturday's final.
"He puts you under pressure every leg, every set. You can't miss too many darts at double. If you leave a double after 12, you can't even come back because he's that good," said Van Veen, the new Dutch No 1.
"I left a double after 12 darts many times and didn't get another chance and I left a finish after nine, if I missed, that's it - leg gone. I dealt with the pressure well with other players but I didn't against him."
On paper, it has been a walk in the park for Littler to a second world crown. However, his ability to flick a switch when needed has arguably stopped him from being in trouble.
His first-round match against Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas saw him taken to a deciding leg in the opening set against his throw, before going on to win 3-0. Similarly in the second round, Wales' David Davies missed three set darts to claim the first set before Littler broke him and held throw, then coasted to another 3-0 whitewash.
"He's had little tests in almost every match and passed them pretty well. He had to stand up for himself to keep things from getting ugly," said Your Site Darts' John Part.
"The best way to avoid being embroiled is to do the problem solving before the problem occurs."
We saw this in particular when Littler saw off former world champion Rob Cross 4-2 in the fourth round, his most dramatic contest at this year's World Championship.
The crowd turned on him as they wanted a Cross fightback but Littler turned on the style to avoid a deciding set. Cross, at 2-1 up in legs to send the match to a seventh and final set, had a set dart but missed and Littler pounced with an incredible 10-darter before holding throw to get over the line. He then had a few perhaps unadvisable words to say to the crowd.
In that sixth set, Cross averaged 110 but Littler averaged 116 and as Mardle pointed out on commentary, if you are a spectator or opponent that goes against the teenager, you are simply "poking the bear".
"To be a world champion and world No 1, playing under pressure and not buckling or folding, that's what makes you the best," he said.
Even in the final, Van Veen missed the chance to go 2-0 up in sets which perhaps would have changed the course of what would be one of the most one-sided finales seen at Alexandra Palace. It is not that Littler wasn't tested in this tournament, he was. He just prevented bigger tests.
The world champion said: "It's not effortless. You always have to put the effort in. On the TV, it might not look like it but there's always effort being put in.
"As the tournament goes on, the sets get higher and that's when I can switch it up a few gears and get those 180s going."
For perhaps the first time, we can say this is now the Luke Littler era - it is just a case of how long it will last. Van Gerwen had a four-season spell from 2014 to 2017, but "only" won two world titles in that period.
Littler is turning Alexandra Palace into home soil and it holds a "special place" in his heart, so the inevitable question around catching Phil Taylor's record 16 world titles was put to him.
"Obviously it's so far away. I still have 14 to go. Another 15, 16 years I'd say!" he half-joked.
"If it happens, it happens. I'll be around for a very long time. I'm here to win. Me being so young and already picking up two of these, obviously it's 14 to go. But, it's a long way to go. Who knows if I could reach it? If I get a five or six, I'll be happy."
To put Taylor's astonishing World Championship record into perspective - he reached the final for 14 years in a row from 1994 to 2007, losing just three times.
Littler would have to effectively play at the dizzy heights he's at now for over another decade to give himself a chance to match the legendary Taylor.
Mardle said: "When Phil Taylor played well, he won. When Michael van Gerwen played well, he won, it's about Luke Littler at the moment.
"The format doesn't matter. He's just the best."
Littler joins Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen as the four automatic qualifiers for the 2026 Premier League season, with the remaining four names set to be revealed on Monday afternoon.
That announcement will be made live on Your Site News at 3.30pm, with the format of the eight-player competition remaining unchanged this season. The opening night is in Newcastle on February 5, with every week live on Your Site. .
