was serenaded with a cheeky chant from the crowd after storming ahead of in the final.

He made a flying start to the biggest match of his young career, winning the opening four sets to put clear daylight between himself and his Dutch rival.

At one point, it looked as though it was going to be a whitewash before Van Gerwen finally got on the board in set five.

The crowd were left delighted by Littler's merciless display and honoured him with an X-rated chant after the end of the fourth set. A large number of fans were heard singing: "Luke Littler, he's taking the p***."

Sky Sports commentator Dan Dawson was also left in awe, saying: "There's a real chance here the World Championship final could turn into a rout. One of the greatest players ever to throw a dart is getting a hiding from the 17-year-old at the moment."

The crowd was on Littler's side before a dart had even been thrown, with the majority of fans cheering wildly during his walk-on before greeting Van Gerwen with a smattering of boos.

Both players looked nervous early on but Littler was able to settle himself before his opponent had found his rhythm. He drew first blood with a break of throw in the opening leg, which was a sign of things to come.

The teenager breezed through the second set without dropping a single leg, prompting a huge roar from the Alexandra Palace crowd. He made Van Gerwen pay for a series of uncharacteristic mistakes, with the Dutchman floundering on the doubles.

Littler, on the other hand, kept his cool and did not allow himself to be drawn into making errors. Sky Sports analyst John Part noted: "The way Littler's playing on his throw in a set with the darts just isn't giving any glimmer of hope to Van Gerwen."

Van Gerwen had the opportunity to break back in the third set, but inexplicably missed three darts at D20 and was duly punished by Littler.

The fourth set went the same way as it became increasingly clear that Littler would take some stopping, with Van Gerwen struggling to answer the questions that were being asked of him.

The Dutchman finally got on the board, but it was far too late as the 17-year-old went onto win 7-3 in the final.