Flooring Porter could head straight to the Cheltenham Festival after coming up short in Grade One company over the Christmas period – but whether he will stick to fences or bid to secure a third Stayers’ Hurdle title remains uncertain.
The nine-year-old dominated from the front when claiming the Stayers’ Hurdle crown in both 2021 and 2022 and finished an honourable fourth when looking to make it a hat-trick last season.
This season Gavin Cromwell’s stable star has had his attentions switched to the larger obstacles and made an impressive start to his new career at Cheltenham in October.
However, he was well held in third in the Grade Two Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown on his next start, and while connections were hopeful a return to a left-handed track would see him in a better light in last week’s Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown, he again had to make do with minor honours behind the impressive Grangeclare West.
Cromwell said: “He jumped really well, no excuses. The winner was very good on the day and we were beaten fair and square.
“He jumped well and he’s probably going to struggle at that level over fences.”
The County Meath handler is not ruling out the possibility of Flooring Porter contesting one of the novice chases at the Festival, but confirmed a return to the smaller obstacles is under consideration.
“It’s hard to know where we go. I will put him in the Stayers’ Hurdle,” he added.
“We could potentially go straight to Cheltenham with him, as we did when he won the two Stayers’ Hurdles after Christmas.
“I’m not saying he will go for the Stayers’ Hurdle. We could go straight to Cheltenham, but what race we go for is very much up in the air.”
Another Cromwell inmate who was placed at Grade One level at Leopardstown over the festive period was My Mate Mozzie, who filled the runner-up spot behind Found A Fifty in the Racing Post Novice Chase.
The trainer was delighted with his eight-year-old’s performance, but with hot favourite Facile Vega a huge disappointment, he does question the strength of the form.
Cromwell said: “He finished off really well, but I suppose he was ridden to do that and he may have been a bit flattered by the fact the favourite had cried enough and Sharjah hasn’t just been in form of late either, but it was nice to be second in a Grade One.
“I’m not sure where we’ll go now, I suppose the Grand Annual is a possibility at the Festival.”
Saracens and England prop Mako Vunipola has received a four-match ban after being sent off against Gallagher Premiership opponents Newcastle.
Vunipola was dismissed during the closing stages of Saturday’s encounter following a dangerous tackle on Newcastle hooker Bryan Byrne.
He will miss Saracens’ Premiership appointments with Leicester and Exeter, plus Investec Champions Cup games against Bordeaux-Begles and Lyon.
Vunipola, though, will be available for England’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on February 3 if head coach Steve Borthwick decides to recall him.
And that could prove timely, given current injuries to England’s three World Cup squad loosehead props Ellis Genge, Joe Marler and Bevan Rodd.
Vunipola’s case was heard by an independent disciplinary panel.
“The player admitted that foul play took place, but not that it met the red card threshold,” the Rugby Football Union said.
“The panel upheld the charge and Vunipola received a four-match ban.
“He is ineligible to take part in World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, having completed it in 2022.”
Had Vunipola not already done that programme, he could have applied on this occasion and then expected to have had one game subtracted from the suspension.
Novak Djokovic’s preparations for his Australian Open title defence were dealt a blow in an injury-affected defeat to Alex de Minaur in the United Cup in Perth.
Djokovic lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 12 De Minaur as Australia took a 1-0 lead in their quarter-final against Serbia in the mixed team event before sealing a 2-0 victory.
Djokovic was below his best and struggled with an on-going problem with his right wrist, twice requiring treatment from the physio.
The world number one needed a medical time-out for the issue in his previous United Cup match against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, which he won in three sets on Tuesday.
The Serbian was treated after holding serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set and again after De Minaur had broken to edge 5-4 up.
Despite Djokovic’s fitness concerns, De Minaur produced an impressive performance to seal one of the biggest wins of his career in just over an hour-and-a-half.
De Minaur said in his on-court interview after the match: “It’s extra special. Novak is an unbelievable competitor and what he’s done for the sport is pretty special.
“When you go up against Novak you have to go out and enjoy it and back yourself and no matter what keep fighting until the end. Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win.”
Ajla Tomljanovic followed De Minaur’s win by beating Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic 6-1 6-1 to clinch Australia’s semi-final place.
Nigel Twiston-Davies has paid tribute to his star mare Zambella after her retirement from racing.
Owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, Zambella joined the Twiston-Davies team in 2019 and would go on to win nine times in the owners’ famous double green silks.
Winner of 12 of her 29 starts overall, she struck eight times at Listed level with her final outing coming when pulled up in search of a third victory in Doncaster’s Yorkshire Silver Vase Mares’ Chase.
Twiston-Davies said: “She has been brilliant, she jumped beautifully and was so genuine and it is a great shame she has got to retire, but she will breed some lovely foals I think.”
Zambella also won the Houghton Mares’ Chase for three successive years and by a combined winning distance of over 35 lengths such was her dominance in a race that was twice ran at Aintree when rescheduled from its usual home of Carlisle.
She competed three times at the Cheltenham Festival in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase, falling when travelling strongly three from the finish in 2021 before returning to Prestbury Park to finish fourth in the following two years.
“She was the best of the British but then the Irish would come over and beat her at the Festival,” continued Twiston-Davies.
“But otherwise she was best of the Brits and there are lots of highlights. We hope we can find another one.”
Rory McIlroy has conceded he was “too judgemental” in his criticisms of those who joined the breakaway LIV Golf Tour.
McIlroy took a strident position against the big-money venture, which tempted a host of top names with lavish paydays and disrupted the established order of the PGA and European tours.
The Northern Irishman became the de facto voice of opposition to the project, which has continued to divide the sport, and said during last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome that the likes of Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter would miss being part of the European team more than they would be missed.
Now, with talks ongoing to agree a merger between the rival parties, McIlroy has taken a tentative step towards rapprochement.
Speaking to Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, he said: “I think at this point, I was maybe a little judgemental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start.
“I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Wood’s position. I can’t judge people for making that decision, so if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgemental at the start.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now.
“At the end of the day, we’re professional golfers and we play to make a living and make money, so I understand it.”
McIlroy remains unhappy at those who criticised the established tours after leaving, but did accept that the Saudi intervention did shine a light on problems that had gone overlooked for too long.
“I don’t begrudge anyone for going and taking the money and doing something different, but don’t try to burn the place down on your way out,” he added.
“When people have played that for 15 or 20 years, and then they jump to LIV and start talking crap about where they’ve come from, that is what bothers me, because they wouldn’t be in this position if they didn’t have the career they’ve had so far.
“I think what LIV has done… it’s exposed some of the flaws in the system and hopefully golf will have a look at more.
“If we’re going to ask these people (sponsors) for so much money, we need to be able to guarantee them what they’re getting.
“Part of the stuff that we’ve been trying to do for the last two years is figure out how we can try and bring golf back together again and learn from some of the things that have happened.”
Jon Rahm became the latest high-profile LIV acquisition within weeks of helping Europe to victory in a Ryder Cup triumph in Rome, a move McIlroy chalked up as calculated move against the backdrop of negotiations between the rival tours.
“I thought it was a smart business move from Jon – it’s opportunistic,” he said.
“(He) hasn’t got any of the heat for going like the first guys got for going.
“Jon is a smart guy and I think he sees things coming together at some point so he’s thinking that he’ll take the up-front money, which is his prerogative, and if things come together he’ll play LIV for a year then come back to play on the tour.”
Luke Littler has been “smashing them all to bits” on the dartboard since the age of nine.
Littler’s incredible run to the World Championship final at the age of 16 has transcended events on the oche and shocked the entire sporting world, but not St Helens Darts Academy co-founder Karl Holden.
Even esteemed French sports publication L’Equipe, a title not known for its darts coverage, devoted space to hail the teenage sensation after his semi-final demolition of former world champion Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday evening.
Littler’s appetite for hitting 180s and big checkouts on the big London stage are even greater than his well-documented love of kebabs.
But, while his name was barely known beyond his home town of Warrington before the start of the world championship last month, this is no overnight success story.
“He has been coming here since he was nine. We are all very proud,” Holden told the PA news agency.
“When he first came as a kid you could see he was very special and he just got better and better. Every year he was a bit better than the last.
“We put him up to the Under-14s when he was nine, but three months after that he was smashing all them to bits.
“He hardly lost so we said, ‘What do we now?’ We put him into the elite group, which is our best players, and he had just turned 10.”
St Helens Darts Academy members are planning a party on Wednesday to support Littler in his final showdown with Luke Humphries, his fellow Englishman 12 years his senior and the new world number one.
The pair last met in quieter surroundings at a Hayling Island competition in 2019 when Littler was only 12.
Holden said: “Obviously he puts a lot of hours in and we had to tell him to stop coming as he was so good.
“He needed to be playing at a better standard. He was good enough to win men’s tournaments at 13 or 14. And he did. His ability is second to none.
“The best players reach a level in their twenties that he’s reached at 16.
“We’ve produced some good players. Probably about 40 county players, but Luke is something else.
“We’re all behind Luke. It’s not just St Helens.
“Luke is a Warrington man through and through, a big Wire (Warrington rugby league) supporter, and the whole of Warrington is right behind him.”
Littler is known as ‘Luke The Nuke’ and the sale of darts with his name on has exploded in St Helens and Warrington.
So, too, has interest in darts at Padgate Academy, where Littler – who has been regularly serenaded by fans at Alexandra Palace that he has “got school in the morning” – sat his GCSEs last year.
“He’s putting darts on the map at the moment but he’s already done that here at the school,” headteacher Adam McMillan told The Guardian.
“He’s left such an incredible legacy at the school, lots of students have been inspired by him and gone on to be interested in darts.
“Through his sponsors, we were able to get dartboards, and we set up a darts club, which was really well attended. Many students then bought their own dartboards.
“He’s left his mark here but I think the wider impact will be seen in schools across the UK. We’ll see some sort of legacy from all this.”
Luke Littler’s teenage dream concludes when he faces Luke Humphries in the World Championship final on Wednesday evening.
The 16-year-old is the youngest ever player to reach the decider in a remarkable Alexandra Palace journey, but he will face the toughest test yet against the new world number one.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the players match up.
Routes to final
The pair have had differing journeys to the final. Despite his tender years, Littler has had the most serene path, dropping just six sets. He proved he is already at a level to compete with the very best as he took out UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, walloped five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and then beat 2018 title winner Rob Cross in stunning fashion.
Humphries’ route has been a little rockier as he was taken to a final-set decider against Ricardo Pietreczko in the third round and then needed a sudden-death leg to beat Joe Cullen in the fourth. He looks to be coming into form just at the right time, though, as he whitewashed Scott Williams 6-0 in the semi-final, producing the 10th best three-dart average ever at the Alexandra Palace, with six 100+ checkouts.
Big scoring
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The teenager created history in his first-round win over Christian Kist by recording the highest average of a debutant at the World Championship and that set the tone for a high-scoring performance. Littler’s three-dart tournament average is 101.82, he has thrown 50 180s and crucially is operating at a 45 per cent success rate on checkouts.
Humphries’ average is slightly down at 99.33, but he has also thrown a half-century of maximums and has taken out 41 per cent of his double attempts.
Unbeaten streaks
Both players are in supreme form and are on long unbeaten streaks. Humphries is the form player in the world and extended his winning run to 18 when he beat Williams to reach the final. It was October 29 when ‘Cool Hand’ last lost, going down to James Wade in the European Championship. He won the Players Championship a week later, which was his third major title in six weeks.
Littler is also used to winning and is unbeaten in 21 matches going back to August in PDC events, which included him winning the World Youth Championship.
Rapid rises
Humphries’ formidable display against Williams in the semi-final saw him climb to the top of the world rankings, leapfrogging Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith. It is reward for his stunning form over the last couple of months, where he won his first major titles. His rise has been rapid, but Littler’s has been meteoric.
The teen headed into the tournament ranked 164 in the world but is already up to 31st. If he can get over the line in the final, he will climb into the top 10.
Luke Littler swept into the world darts final with the support of his beloved Warrington Wolves ringing in his ears.
Super League stars Josh Thewlis and Matty Ashton – as well as the club’s mascot ‘Wolfie’ – were present at Ally Pally to cheer the 16-year-old through his emphatic semi-final win over Rob Cross.
The duo, who presented Littler with a Wolves shirt emblazoned with ‘Littler 180’ on the back, were forced to zip straight back up the M6 for the start of post-season training on Wednesday.
But they marvelled at Littler’s composure on the oche, with Thewlis telling the PA news agency: “It must be pretty daunting for a 16-year-old to be up there on the big stage on his own.
“When I was 16 I was still turning up to training feeling star-struck by everyone, but I had 12 other blokes with me on the field who I knew would be able to help me out.
“Somehow Luke seems to be taking it all in his stride. Any other person in his position would be quite nervous, but he’s so chilled out and genuinely excited by it all.”
Littler has posed with a series of Premier League footballers during his run to the Ally Pally final, but his heart lies with the Wolves where he has been a season-ticket holder for the last four years.
And, having recently renewed his regular seat for the 2024 campaign, he appears to have no intention of using some of his six-figure winnings to splash out on a £15,000 executive box to watch the games in comfort.
Wolves and England star Ashton is no stranger to live darts action and often heads to the big events with his brothers when his rugby league schedule allows.
Ashton, a regular at the World Matchplay tournament in Blackpool, also hailed Littler’s composure and the impact he is likely to make on his home town, where sporting heroes – Wolves excepted – are in short supply.
“It’s great to have someone from the town and so close to the club doing so well,” said Ashton. “Darts is a massive sport and the whole place is really rooting for him.
“When I was 16 I don’t think I would have coped. I’m 25 years old now and I’m still getting used to some sort of media attention. What Luke is experiencing is something else and we’re all so pleased for him.”
Stephen Curry scored 36 points in an impressive display as the Golden State Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Coach Steve Kerr praised Curry for an "amazing" performance on Tuesday as Golden State improved to 16-17 with a much-needed home win.
The Warriors had lost consecutive games to the Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks until Curry intervened with a big night which included some crucial plays in the fourth quarter.
Curry also had six assists and four steals, while Jonathan Kuminga scored 19 points and Klay Thompson added 15 for the Warriors.
"Steph was amazing," said Kerr. "But Steph is always amazing. Even when he doesn't score 36 points.
"Just the attention he draws defensively, what he does to an opposing defense, the way he opens up the floor, he's a remarkable player.
"He really got himself going on a night when we needed it."
The Warriors will host the Nuggets on Thursday as their seven-game homestand continues, with Chris Paul relieved to get back to winning ways ahead of that clash with the defending NBA champions.
"It was huge, we have been struggling to get wins," said Paul.
"It is hard to win in this league. That team [Orlando] is a young team, well coached. They've been playing hard all season long, so this was a good win for us."
The Magic are on the road against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday and are fifth in the Eastern Conference after the loss to Golden State.
Paolo Banchero had 27 points and 12 rebounds with Franz Wagner adding 25 points, but Orlando fell to 19-14 on the season and 7-10 in road games.
"They have an elite shot maker and Hall of Fame player in Steph Curry – that is what we got," said coach Jamahl Mosley.
Fergal O’Brien’s Crambo could head straight to the Cheltenham Festival after doing his connections proud in the Long Walk over the festive period.
The seven-year-old claimed Grade One glory at Ascot on December 23 after coming out on top in a titanic tussle with staying stalwart Paisley Park.
The extended three-mile contest was rightly hailed as one of best of the races season so far and victory was particularly meaningful to former jockey Noel Fehily, who bred the winner and is the racing manager to owner Chris Giles.
Fehily also did the early work with Crambo and takes him for pre-training ahead of each season, meaning his involvement with the promising stayer runs even deeper still.
The Saddler Maker gelding is currently a 10-1 chance for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival in March and may not run again beforehand.
“Crambo is doing well, I’m presuming he’ll go straight to Cheltenham, but I’ve yet to talk to Fergal about it,” Fehily said.
“It was great to see him do that, that was a mighty race between him and Paisley Park – we were very happy with him.
“I bred him and I had the mare, so it’s lovely to see one you’ve known from day one go and win at that level.
“We broke him, pre-trained him, we pre-train him every year before he goes back to Fergal’s.
“He’s an absolute joy to deal with, he’s a dude of a horse. He goes out, does his thing, he’s so straightforward.”
Luke Littler left Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle forgetting to talk after continuing his historic World Championship dream by reaching the final.
The 16-year-old put in a stunning performance to trounce former champion Rob Cross in the semi-final at Alexandra Palace and become the youngest ever finalist in the premier darts tournament.
Mardle, who was calling the match, says Littler is better than three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen was at the same age and believes him lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on Wednesday night would be the greatest story in the history of darts.
“I have not seen anything like that,” he told the PA news agency.
“When I was near my pomp, Michael van Gerwen was coming through and I saw him as a 17, 18-year-old and he was incredible, but he was not that good.
“That is just different, it is the World Championship, it is different doing it here. There are people who just can’t play like Luke. He has got the ability, the composure under pressure, the belief.
“He has got everything you need to be a champion. Even though he hasn’t won it yet, all that he has been winning has led to this. He is used to winning.
“I have never seen the like and I am not sure we will again. I am gobsmacked.
“Doing the commentary, I am sitting there as a fan, I had to remember to talk, I was watching in awe. Spectacular.
“It has to be the greatest story in darts, what else could it be? It supercedes everything.
“Phil Taylor winning 16 is always going to be the most incredible thing because of the sheer number but a 16-year-old? it’s not just him winning, it’s the way he is playing and that is the most incredible thing for me.
“I have played to a decent enough level to know what is good and bad, this is a different level. I am in awe.”
Littler’s toughest test will come in Wednesday’s showpiece as he meets new world number one Luke Humphries, so victory will not be routine.
Even if he does not get over the line against Humphries, Mardle says he will end his career with a sizeable trophy haul.
“He is already good enough at 16, as long as he doesn’t regress then he should win it multiple times – but it is a difficult one to win,” he added.
“Michael van Gerwen has only won it three times and he dominated for more or less a decade, so let’s not give him it before he has actually won it.
“But how does not he hang up his darts as a multiple world champion?”
Teenage star Luke Littler will stick with his diet of cheese and ham omelettes and pizza as he tries to complete his history-making World Championship dream.
The 16-year-old debutant continued his amazing Alexandra Palace journey by becoming the youngest-ever finalist when he destroyed 2018 champion Rob Cross in the semi-final.
He is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, with new world number one Luke Humphries standing in his way.
Littler has made history with some unconventional preparations, with his love of kebabs also a theme of his run to the final, but it is working for him.
“I’ll keep doing what I have been doing,” he said. “I don’t wake up until 12, in the morning go for my ham and cheese omelette, come here and have my pizza, and then go on the practice board.
“It is what I have been doing every day – if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
Littler has already proved he is the real deal but produced his biggest statement yet as he downed eighth seed Cross 6-2 in stunning fashion.
He bombarded the treble-20 for 16 180s, produced three 130-plus checkouts and averaged 106.05 in a nerveless performance.
“I haven’t got the words. It’s crazy,” he said. “I have just settled on that stage.
“It has not even sunk in yet. I have surprised myself.
“I have just got to stay focused and be Luke Littler. I have got to be mature and be myself.
“It would be unbelievable if I won it, I only wanted to win one match.”
He will come up against his toughest opponent yet in Humphries, who is the form player in the world.
The 28-year-old came into the tournament by winning three of the last four majors and produced one of the best ever performances at Ally Pally to whitewash Scott Williams 6-0 in his semi-final.
In doing so, he overtook Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith to become the new world number one – but he says becoming world champion would be more meaningful.
He said: “It feels amazing, I would never have imagined myself to be world number one and I did it in style, I was really pleased with the performance.
“I have always said world number one can last a number of months, world champion is forever.”
Teenager Luke Littler will hope his history-making World Championship journey ends in glory when he plays Luke Humphries in the final.
It has been a whirlwind two weeks for the 16-year-old debutant, who is the youngest ever player to reach the climax of the premier darts tournament.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how Littler has stormed through the tournament.
First round – Beat Christian Kist 3-0
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Having earned his place by winning the World Youth Championship in November, Littler’s record-breaking started in his first-round match. The teenage debutant destroyed Christian Kist in straight sets, averaging a mammoth 106.12, which is the highest ever by a player on debut at the World Championship.
Second round – beat Andrew Gilding 3-1
The UK Open champion ought to have provided a sterner test but he was also brushed aside to ensure ‘The Nuke’ returned to the Alexandra Palace after Christmas. His numbers were not as good as his opening-round win, but he became the youngest player to ever reach the third round of the World Championship with another assured display.
Third round – beat Matt Campbell 4-1
The hype was growing around Littler as he resumed his campaign two days after Christmas and the gifts kept on coming as he sent the Canadian packing. It was a mammoth 164 checkout and an impressive doubles percentage that saw him over the line to keep the dream – and the media hype – alive.
Last 16 – beat Raymond van Barneveld 4-1
Littler used to imitate Van Barneveld as a three-year-old so to get the chance to play him on the Alexandra Palace stage was a dream come true. And it was the 16-year-old that played like a five-time world champion as the apprentice demolished the master. He averaged a superb 105.01 and threw nine 180s to prove his credentials as a genuine contender.
Quarter-final – beat Brendan Dolan 5-1
The Littler juggernaut showed no signs of stopping as he demolished Dolan with a superb display. Dolan had ousted former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson on the way to the last eight but he could not cope with Littler’s heavy scoring and mature matchplay as he again averaged over 100.
Semi-final – beat Rob Cross 6-2
The teenager saved his best for the biggest occasion as he put in a masterful performance to beat 2018 champion Cross – the last man to win on debut. He lost the first set to trail for the first time in the tournament but soon showed he is the player for the big occasion, winning with a 106.05 average and 16 180s to keep the dream alive.
Teenage star Luke Littler will stick with his diet of cheese and ham omelettes and pizza as he tries to complete his history-making World Championship dream.
The 16-year-old debutant continued his amazing Alexandra Palace journey by becoming the youngest-ever finalist when he destroyed 2018 champion Rob Cross in the semi-final.
He is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, with new world number one Luke Humphries standing in his way.
Littler has made history with some unconventional preparations, with his love of kebabs also a theme of his run to the final, but it is working for him.
“I’ll keep doing what I have been doing,” he said. “I don’t wake up until 12, in the morning go for my ham and cheese omelette, come here and have my pizza, and then go on the practice board.
“It is what I have been doing every day – if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
Littler has already proved he is the real deal but produced his biggest statement yet as he downed eighth seed Cross 6-2 in stunning fashion.
He bombarded the treble-20 for 16 180s, produced three 130-plus checkouts and averaged 106.05 in a nerveless performance.
“I haven’t got the words. It’s crazy,” he said. “I have just settled on that stage.
“It has not even sunk in yet. I have surprised myself.
“I have just got to stay focused and be Luke Littler. I have got to be mature and be myself.
“It would be unbelievable if I won it, I only wanted to win one match.”
He will come up against his toughest opponent yet in Humphries, who is the form player in the world.
The 28-year-old came into the tournament by winning three of the last four majors and produced one of the best ever performances at Ally Pally to whitewash Scott Williams 6-0 in his semi-final.
In doing so, he overtook Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith to become the new world number one – but he says becoming world champion would be more meaningful.
He said: “It feels amazing, I would never have imagined myself to be world number one and I did it in style, I was really pleased with the performance.
“I have always said world number one can last a number of months, world champion is forever.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 36 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the NBA-leading Boston Celtics, 127-123 on Tuesday for their fifth straight win.
Josh Giddey had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Thunder, who have won eight of nine. During that stretch, they have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Clippers’ nine-game win streak, beat West-leading Minnesota by 23 and now the Celtics.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum added 30 as Boston had a six-game winning streak snapped.
Oklahoma City opened a 108-90 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics rallied to cut the deficit to 121-119.
Giddey hit a pair of free throws with 12.1 seconds left to put the Thunder up 4 before Porzingis hit a deep shot in the left corner with 3.7 seconds left to make it a two-point game.
Gilgeous-Alexander sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 2.8 to play.
Embiid leads 76ers in return
Joel Embiid tallied 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a sprained right ankle to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 110-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Embiid, who missed all four games on the 76ers’ holiday road trip, was 10 of 20 from the field and notched his seventh career triple-double in the third quarter. He extended his franchise records with 15 straight 30-point games and 14 consecutive games of 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyrese Maxey had 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16 for the 76ers, who have won three straight and seven of eight at home.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 16 points and Andre Drummond had 11 with 17 rebounds.
Rozier helps Hornets snap 11-game skid
Terry Rozier scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter after missing a game due to illness as the Charlotte Hornets stopped an 11-game skid with a 111-104 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Rozier shot 13 of 24 from the field and handed out six assists, while Miles Bridges added 27 points for Charlotte, which played without rookie Brandon Miller (bruised left hip), LaMelo Ball (right ankle sprain), Gordon Hayward (left calf strain), Mark Williams (bruised lower back) and Frank Ntilikina (left tibia fracture).
De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points for Sacramento and Domantas Sabonis had 23 with 19 rebounds for his 15th straight double-double, tied for the NBA’s longest streak this season.
Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists to reach 900 points for his career and the Edmonton Oilers won their sixth straight game, 5-2 over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
McDavid’s milestone point came on an assist on Zach Hyman’s goal in the second period. The 900th point came in his 602nd game, making McDavid the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach that total, trailing only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny.
McDavid had five points in a game for the 10th time. He had a career-high six points on Nov. 14, 2019 against Colorado.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist for the Oilers, who are 14-3-0 in their past 17 games.
Surging Jets handle Lightning
Nikolaj Ehlers and Morgan Barron scored third-period goals as the Winnipeg Jets extended their point streak to nine games with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Neal Pionk and Alex Iafallo also scored and Vladimir Namestnikov had three assists as the Jets won their third straight and improved to 7-0-2 in their past nine games.
Connor Hellebuyck, named the NHL’s third star of the month of December, stopped 33 shots. He is 7-0-2 with a 1.99 goals-against average in his last nine starts.
Red-hot Hurricanes roll past Rangers
Andrei Svechnikov scored a pair of goals and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 28 shots to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-1 rout of the New York Rangers.
Brady Skjei had three assists against his former team and Jack Drury had a goal and an assist to help the Hurricanes win their fourth straight and improve to 7-1-3 in their last 11 games.
Svechnikov has points in five consecutive games, including six goals, while Sebastian Aho has points in his last five games with three goals and 10 assists.
Chris Kreider scored for New York, which has lost seven times this season by three or more goals.
Emma Raducanu has earned direct entry into the main draw at the Australian Open following a number of late withdrawals.
The 2021 US Open champion made a winning return to the court at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Tuesday after being sidelined since April following operations on both her wrists and one ankle.
It appeared that Raducanu was going to be required to go through qualifying for the Australian Open due to her protected ranking – given to players who have been sidelined long term – not being high enough.
However, the Australian Open announced in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday that the 21-year-old would take the place of American Lauren Davis in the main draw after the American withdrew due to a shoulder injury.
Davis joins French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally on the withdrawal list.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has also withdrawn from the tournament after announcing she is pregnant with her first child.
Naomi Osaka’s first tournament appearance in more than two years has ended with a second-round defeat to 16th seed Karolina Pliskova at the Brisbane International.
Following an opening-round win over Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch on Monday, Osaka looked to keep her momentum going against the Czech world number 39 but was ultimately outlasted 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4.
In a battle of two former world number ones, Osaka exploded out of the gates to claim the first set before Pliskova began to find her footing in the second.
After surviving an early break point, Pliskova capitalised on her serve to take control of the match, going on to win 92 percent of her first service points in the set.
Osaka continued to threaten throughout the final set, but was unable to make the most of her remaining opportunities in the narrow loss.
Osaka returned to the court on Monday for the first time since withdrawing from the Pan Pacific Trophy with a knee injury in September 2021. She became a mother for the first time in July.
Elsewhere, Australia’s Daria Saville came agonisingly close to upsetting 11th seed Anastasia Potapova in a 6-4 3-6 6-4 defeat.
The world number 176 dropped the first set but battled back to convincingly claim the second in front of a raucous home crowd.
However Potapova showed plenty of her own fight in the decider, eventually wrapping up the result in two hours and 52 minutes.
Meanwhile, sixth seed Veronika Kudermetova cruised to a 6-2 6-3 win over world number 73 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Teenage star Luke Littler will stick with his diet of cheese and ham omelettes and pizza as he tries to complete his history-making World Championship dream.
The 16-year-old debutant continued his amazing Alexandra Palace journey by becoming the youngest-ever finalist when he destroyed 2018 champion Rob Cross in the semi-final.
He is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, with new world number one Luke Humphries standing in his way.
Littler has made history with some unconventional preparations, with his love of kebabs also a theme of his run to the final, but it is working for him.
“I’ll keep doing what I have been doing,” he said. “I don’t wake up until 12, in the morning go for my ham and cheese omelette, come here and have my pizza, and then go on the practice board.
“It is what I have been doing every day – if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
Littler has already proved he is the real deal but produced his biggest statement yet as he downed eighth seed Cross 6-2 in stunning fashion.
He bombarded the treble-20 for 16 180s, produced three 130-plus checkouts and averaged 106.05 in a nerveless performance.
“I haven’t got the words. It’s crazy,” he said. “I have just settled on that stage.
“It has not even sunk in yet. I have surprised myself.
“I have just got to stay focused and be Luke Littler. I have got to be mature and be myself.
“It would be unbelievable if I won it, I only wanted to win one match.”
He will come up against his toughest opponent yet in Humphries, who is the form player in the world.
The 28-year-old came into the tournament by winning three of the last four majors and produced one of the best ever performances at Ally Pally to whitewash Scott Williams 6-0 in his semi-final.
In doing so, he overtook Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith to become the new world number one – but he says becoming world champion would be more meaningful.
He said: “It feels amazing, I would never have imagined myself to be world number one and I did it in style, I was really pleased with the performance.
“I have always said world number one can last a number of months, world champion is forever.”
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