The PDC World Darts Championship final sees Luke Littler out for glory after coming within touching distance of the title last time out, and there’s a second trophy in his sights
PDC World Darts Championship finalist Luke Littler has a chance to rebound from his 2024 defeat to Luke Humphries, but the teenager is all but guaranteed silverware whatever happens at Ally Pally.
Littler was beaten 7-4 in the final on his debut in the championship, but has powered his way through the field as he looks to go one better this time out. After surviving a fourth round scare against Ryan Joyce, he overcame Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals and claimed a 6-1 victory over Stephen Bunting in the semis.
The one man standing between the 17-year-old and a first World Championship title is three-time winner Michael van Gerwen. The 2019 champ secured a 6-1 triumph of his own in the semis, with Chris Dobey on the receiving end.
Both begin the final with a clean slate, though the younger man is an odds-on favourite. Even if Littler can’t complete the job, though, he is expected to take home a tidy consolation prize for the Ballon d’Art.
The Ballon d’Art was introduced for last year’s tournament, with the trophy going to the player with the most 180s during the Ally Pally tournament. Luke Humphries completed a double last time out, ending up with 73 maximums en route to toppling Littler in the final.
Littler leads the way with 64 maximums going into the final, with Van Gerwen posting 43 so far – level with the already-eliminated Callan Rydz. No player has ever posted more than 24 maximums in a single World Championship match, so it will be next to impossible for him to be caught.
Paddy Power have been committing £1,000 to charity Prostate Cancer UK for every maximum in the tournament, along with a nine-darter bonus, and ahead of the final, that tally already sits north of £1million. The £882,000 donated for 882 maxmums has been supplemented by £60,000 for each of those nine-darters – one for Christian Kist and a second for Damon Heta.
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“Football has the Ballon d’Or, so it’s only right that darts has the Ballon d’Art,” a Paddy Power spokesperson told The Sun. “It will be handed to the player who is literally single-handedly responsible for raising the largest sum of money for Prostate Cancer UK during the tournament.”
If Littler does indeed take home the trophy, it will allow him to add to an already impressive array. ‘The Nuke’ has already seen his prize money from the sport climb over £1m, while he’s set to add another £500,000 if he beats Van Gerwen on Friday.
“It’s been an amazing tournament so far,” Littler told Sky Sports on Thursday after beating Bunting in his semi-final. “People will say I was looking at the title throughout the tournament but I was looking at the first game against Ryan Meikle, and ever since I’ve just got to beat what’s in front of me. I’m so glad to win tonight.
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“I’ve played a lot better and won plenty of titles leading up to this, but that’s what we do, we lead up to the big one. There are majors all year round but I can’t wait for tomorrow night.
“If we both turn up like we did tonight, it [the final] is going to be really good. As soon as Luke Humphries went out, that’s what everyone was looking at. I just had to focus on my quarter-final and semi-final, and now I’ve done that I can focus on Michael tomorrow.
“We all know he’s hunting for that world title but I’m hunting for my first. The same as last night – go home, chill out and be back tomorrow.”
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