Luke Littler and Gian van Veen are in the final of the Darts World Cup. In the semi-finals, the 18-year-old Englishman Littler won against his compatriot Ryan Searle 6-1 and has the chance to defend his title on Saturday. There he will meet the Dutch shooting star Gian van Veen, who won his semi-final against the Scot Gary Anderson 6-3.
It is the third time in a row that Luke Littler has reached the final of the World Darts Championship. The English darts star’s appearance in the semi-final was a demonstration of power. He gave his opponent Ryan Searle no chance – even though Littler started the game with difficulties.
Starting difficulties quickly switched off
Luke Littler, who is nicknamed “the Nuke”, lost the first set, but then the world number one, who had already stormed into the final in his World Cup debut at the age of 16, increased the number of hits.
Mainly thanks to his strong scoring, Littler secured set after set, Searle missed his few chances on the doubles fields. In the meantime, Littler won eleven legs in a row and used his first match dart. Previously, only record winners Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley and Gary Anderson had made three final appearances in a row at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championships.
Searl’s run ended
For Searle, known as “Heavy Metal”, the culmination of a remarkable run at this tournament failed to materialise. The Englishman, who suffers from a rare eye disease that causes vision to deteriorate over time, beat Strausberg’s Martin Schindler in round three and had only lost two World Cup sets until the semi-finals.
To draw attention to Searle’s illness, a sponsor came up with something special on Friday evening: The logos in the Ally Pally were all blurred out.
Crime in the second semi-final
The second semi-final was much more exciting: Junior world champion van Veen and his idol Anderson (55) fought a high-class duel.
The Dutchman was merciless in the doubles and took a 4-1 lead. Anderson didn’t give up, but still missed his sixth World Cup final. Van Veen wobbled in the eighth set, but found his game again in time and ultimately won 6:3.
Final on Saturday
The two youngsters thus fight for the world championship title between themselves. At 9 p.m., 18-year-old Englishman Littler and 23-year-old van Veen will meet at Ally Pally in the fight for the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy.