Luke Littler returned to the scene of his greatest moment in style as he eased through the opening round at the World Darts Championship .

Littler created history in January when he became the youngest world champion , reigning supreme on the Alexandra Palace stage as a 17-year-old.

He has set his sights on becoming the first man to defend his title since Gary Anderson in 2016 and got off to a winning start against Darius Labanauskas.

12 months ago, Littler was in tears after escaping a nervy opening match against Ryan Meikle, but the champion was not going to allow a repeat, sweeping to a 3-0 victory in just 25 minutes.

He averaged an impressive 101.54, threw seven 180s and took out two ton-plus finishes.

Littler is the clear favourite for more glory in the festive feast of darts

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