Luke Littler's second coming at Alexandra Palace catapulted him into the pantheon of great sporting teenagers.

In a golden hour on a north London hilltop, Luke the Nuke became lord of the flights by hammering Michael van Gerwen 7-3 to win the Paddy Power PDC World Championship and lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time.

On the stage where he led Luke Humphries 4-2 in the final but subsided to a 7-4 defeat 12 months ago, this time 17-year-old Littler was simply unstoppable, unflappable, unplayable.

If he had resolved to join the nation’s legions on their Dry January detox, Littler’s tears betrayed him.

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But his 102.73 average, 12 maximum 180s and stunning 56 per cent checkout rate on the doubles were too much even for three-times champion Clog Almighty.

At 9.54pm, when Littler pinned double 16, he joined Pele, Boris Becker and Lester Piggott in the realms of teenage sensations.

Dry January? You’re having a laugh. Let’s raise a toast to a generational talent who has the at his feet and another £500,000 in the bank.

Presented with the trophy by cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy, appearing as ambassador for the PDC’s charity Prostate Cancer UK, Littler’s love affair with the arrows began when he dad bought him a magnetic board from a pound shop.

Now he is destiny’s child, and as van Gerwen said: “Every 17 years a star is born and he is one of them.

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“Of course it hurts, and I’m an old b***ard compared to him, but I didn’t do myself justice.”

By any yardstick, Littler was already the real king of the Palace before the first arrow left his hand.

Online, more people searched for Littler in 2024 than the King or the Prime Minister and one bookmaker is offering odds of 4-1 that he will be knighted before he is 30.

On the black market, tickets were going for £1,000 and outside, on the steps of Ally Pally, the most feared symptom of naffness in sport - half-and-half scarves - were on sale.

And Littler’s journey from 13 months ago, when he was ranked No.164 in the world, has been remarkable.

Last year 4.8 million viewers watched his defeat by Luke Humphries in a gripping final, the biggest non-football audience in Sky Sports’ 34-year history.

Fast forward to last night and the 66-1 outsider was the odds-on favourite to wear the crown a fortnight before his 18th birthday, but his route to the final this time had been on a different trajectory.

Where he blew away former world champions Christian Kist, Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross last year, this time there was nervous 3-1 close shave against barber Ryan Meikle; a flattering 4-1 win against Ian White; and a 4-3 ‘nipper’ against Ryan Joyce before he hit his stride against Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting.

Although he has neither sought not coveted the trappings of celebrity, they have found Littler like his tungsten spears can locate double 10 almost blindfolded.

He’s been granted an audience with Sir , gone for a spin around Silverstone with Lando Norris and been the star turn on the special of Bullseye, hosted by Freddie Flintoff, although he went home to Cheshire without a speedboat or caravan.

And without even trying, Luke the Nuke has become the adolescent sultan of cool.

In a bygone era, teenagers were punks, mods or skinheads, but thanks to Littler the new definition of vogue is not safety pins, riding a moped or a rampage with the clippers: It’s a dartboard, three arrows and a purple shirt.

To break Van Gerwen’s resolve, Littler needed a fast start - and providence gave him an early helping hand.

With MVG scattering his shots at the outer ring like a toddler feeding the ducks, Our Kid raced into a four-set lead inside 24 minutes.

At that stage, it was the most one-sided final between monarch and heir since ambushed his mentor Phil Taylor 6-1 in the final 35 years ago.

Or, as one enlightened social media onlooker observed, Van Gerwen was channelling his inner Brazil from the 1998 World Cup final.

Taking just three legs of the first 15, and missing 18 of his first 22 shots at a double, was no basis for negotiation, but there had to be a response from the green machine and a 132 finish on the bull averted the spectre of a whitewash.