17-year-old darts star Luke Littler will play his second World Championship final on Friday.
Image: Keystone
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen will be aiming for his fourth World Championship title in the "Ally Pally".
Image: Keystone
17-year-old darts star Luke Littler will play his second World Championship final on Friday.
Image: Keystone
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen will be aiming for his fourth World Championship title in the "Ally Pally".
Image: Keystone
In his second appearance, 17-year-old Luke Littler is back in the final of the World Darts Championship. The teenager will be up against darts heavyweight Michael van Gerwen on Friday evening.
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- Michael van Gerwen, three-time world champion, will face 17-year-old shooting star Luke Littler in the final of the 2025 World Darts Championship on Friday.
- This will be the dream final that fans and experts have been hoping for at Alexandra Palace in London.
- In addition to the Sid Waddell Trophy, there is prize money of around CHF 564,000 at stake - and personal prestige.
Since 15 December, fans from all over the world have been making the pilgrimage in colorful costumes to Alexandra Palace ("Ally Pally") in London - the Mecca of darts. 94 matches have been played since then. Tonight will be the crowning finale: Dutch star player Michael van Gerwen and 17-year-old English high-flyer Luke Littler will decide who will be the new world champion.
The duel will give the World Darts Championship the final that both fans and experts have been longing for. For example, 35-year-old Michael "Mighty Mike" van Gerwen - a three-time world champion and arguably the most influential player on the PDC Tour in the last decade - will stand in front of the board with its 20 segments.
The Dutchman will be contesting his seventh World Championship final. His three titles date back to 2014, 2017 and 2019, but compared to his years of dominance and his status as the long-standing world no. 1, his tally at the world's biggest tournament is rather meagre. He lost the finals in 2013 (against Phil Taylor), 2020 (against Peter Wright) and 2023 (against Michael Smith).
As a teenager to the top of the world
Nevertheless, "MvG" - as van Gerwen is often called - is not lacking in confidence: "Who's the favorite? Don't ask those stupid questions," he replied to a reporter.
However, the betting odds see van Gerwen's opponent as the slight favorite. In Luke "The Nuke" Littler, he faces the shooting star of the scene par excellence. Last year, Littler reached the final at the age of 16 and as a World Championship debutant, but lost to the current world number 1 Luke Humphries.
After the World Championship, the teenager seamlessly built on his performances at the "Ally Pally", including winning the Premier League this year. Ranked number 4 in the world, he is now only one place behind his opponent in the final, van Gerwen.
Nuclear scoring weapon
Both opponents clearly demonstrated their form in the semi-final. "MvG" beat England's Chris Dobey 6:1, while "The Nuke" didn't give his compatriot Stephen Bunting the slightest chance either with the same result.
As usual, Littler impressed with his high scoring: his three-dart average was 105.48 points - he threw the maximum possible 180 points 13 times. His ability to achieve high scores is also the basis of his nickname: "The Nuke" is an English abbreviation for "nuclear weapon".
"With all due respect, he hasn't won anything yet"
The winner of the World Championship final not only wins the Sid Waddell Trophy, which weighs around 23 kilograms, but also prize money equivalent to around 564,000 francs. However, past interviews with van Gerwen suggest that tonight is about more than money: "With all due respect, he hasn't won anything yet. He'll always be the one chasing me," "MvG" railed at Littler in April.
The Dutchman was repeatedly annoyed that everything in the darts world has revolved around Littler since the last World Championship. The big duel already contains plenty of fuel before the first darts fly through the air.
