Will Littler win his first world championship title? © APA/afp / BEN STANSALL

“It will be damn good”: Dream final Littler against van Gerwen

This is the game the darts world has been waiting for. After 94 matches, the highlight awaits at the end of the World Championship: the clash between the two darts heavyweights Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen.

03 January 2025

From: dpa

The final on Friday (21.00 p.m./DAZN and Sport1) will either bring the fourth coronation for the long-time dominator van Gerwen - or the final breakthrough for teenager Littler, who at 17 can become the youngest world champion in history.

"This is already a breathtaking tournament for me. I'm so happy that I won today. I can't wait," said Littler after the smooth 6:1 win over Stephen Bunting. Before that, the Dutchman van Gerwen (35) had been just as convincing in his 6:1 win against Chris Dobey. "It's going to be damn good," predicted Littler, who is considered the favorite.

career successes

The duel between van Gerwen and Littler is somewhat reminiscent of the World Championship final in 2013. At that time, record champion Phil Taylor, after years of dominance, met the still unfinished van Gerwen, who was striving for his first World Championship title. Taylor won 7:4, but the Dutchman's reign began the following year.

Michael van Gerwen can win title number 4 on Friday. © AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS

In addition to his three world titles, Van Gerwen has also won other majors several times, such as the European Championship (four titles), the World Matchplay (three) and the Players Championship Finals (seven). Littler cannot boast such a wealth of successes, which is simply because he is just coming off his debut season on the PDC tour.

The year 2024

And things went brilliantly for Luke "The Nuke" Littler, as he is nicknamed. After his sensational World Cup final appearance last year, the English youngster immediately won the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts titles. Only the dethroned world champion Luke Humphries earned more prize money than Littler in 2024. Van Gerwen, on the other hand, did not win a major title at all in the calendar year.

Neither of the finalists had the toughest path to the final. Van Gerwen mastered the biggest test on New Year's Day when he defeated the excellent Callan Rydz in a high-class 5:3. Littler's test of maturity had been the round of 4 one round earlier, in which he managed to avoid an early knockout against fellow countryman Ryan Joyce in a 3:XNUMX win. Overall, Littler and van Gerwen were the most consistent players in the World Championship, alongside surprise man Rydz.

The direct duels

The two opponents played against each other twelve times in 2024. They duelled in Bahrain, Berlin and Blackpool, among other places. Littler won six matches, as did van Gerwen. At the World Matchplay, the second most important tournament of the season after the World Championship, van Gerwen won clearly with 10:6.

Littler posted an Instagram story with a photo of a trash can and wrote: "Embarrassing." Less than half a year later, he has the opportunity to make amends on the biggest darts stage in the world in the most important match of the year. The world champion receives the Sid Waddell Trophy, which weighs around 23 kilograms, and prize money equivalent to around 600.000 euros.