Darts sensation possible? Expert makes you sit up and take notice
03.01.2026 09:00 | 1:51m
Defending champion Luke Littler is the clear favorite going into the final of the Darts World Cup against Gian van Veen. But does the 23-year-old Dutchman really have no chance? RTL/ntv expert Kevin Schulte gives an assessment.
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Littler goes into the final as favorite and will of course now try to become world champion back to back. This is really a story here. Especially in England, because no one has been able to do that for ages. Gary Anderson was the last person to win the World Cup twice in a row. Luke Littler can do it now too. It’s also strange that he’s there for the third time and in the final for the third time. By the way, only Phil Taylor, the legendary darts world champion with 16 world titles, has achieved this. But I can still imagine that we will see a very, very close final and maybe Jan van Veen will win seven to six in the end. In any case, I am sure that it will not be as clear as in previous years. He set a historical record. Never before has a player been so good on the double fields in one year. And they are crucial. In darts. And accordingly he is the deserved winner and finalist here. Ryan van Veen is a very quiet guy, almost a nerd, you could say. He completed a degree in aeronautical engineering at the age of 23 in addition to his professional darts career, which he has been pursuing for three years. Certainly not without it and not typical in darts either. Accordingly, a completely different character than many others and also than Luke Littler. Yes, and he is someone who also talks very openly about his struggles in the past and his problems. We also experienced that in the press conference. So he’s a very open, but somehow nerdy guy. I think Gary Anderson would be compared to China. Van Veen What? As far as the mood is concerned for Luke Littler, who was the more dangerous opponent. Because Gary Anderson is an absolute crowd favorite. With van Veen, I can well imagine that in the end, especially if it’s somehow exciting, the English audience might even be more likely to prevail against the Dutchman. And accordingly, I don’t think the audience will now be so much on Jan van Veen’s side. Of course the German component, how many are there and how much do they side with Jan van Veen? Of course that can make the difference.