This has never happened before! Darts world champion Luke Littler has advanced into new spheres with his triumph in the “Ally Pally”.
Littler is still at the top of the world rankings – and how! Thanks to his clear 7-1 final win against Gian van Veen, the 18-year-old now has 2,770,500 million pounds in the Order of Merit. No darts player has ever achieved a higher amount.
The ranking is made up of the prize money earned in ranking tournaments in the last 24 months.
For the first time, one million pounds (around 1.15 million euros) will be awarded for the World Cup title. For comparison: At the 2025 Darts World Cup, Littler “only” received half for his triumph.
Money for darts world champion Littler is only secondary
The record prize money is only of secondary importance for the world champion, as Littler had already made clear before the World Cup final against van Veen.
“Since the World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam of Darts I just said to myself that I [die Weltmeisterschaft] want to win again. Hopefully I can lift the trophy again and of course I’ll think about the money afterwards,” said “The Nuke”.
Littler is the first darts player since Gary Anderson in 2016 to defend his title at the World Darts Championship in London. The other two legends who have also achieved this special feat in the past are Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis.
Darts world rankings: Van Veen makes a big leap
For van Veen, the Darts World Cup was also a complete success despite the final defeat against Littler.
The Dutchman climbs seven positions to third place in the Order of Merit, displacing Michael van Gerwen as Dutch number one. Van Veen received 400,000 pounds (around 460,000 euros) for his participation in the final and qualified for the Premier League.