The Darts World Cup has its dream finale: 17-year-old shooting star Luke Littler followed Michael van Gerwen into the final. Both outclassed their semi-final opponents 6-1.
The Englishman Littler beat his compatriot Stephen Bunting 6-1 and is in the final again in his second World Cup participation. Previously, the Dutchman van Gerwen had also won his semi-final against Chris Dobey with a dominant score of 6-1.
After his defeat in the final last year against Luke Humphries, the 17-year-old Littler wants to secure the Sid Waddell Trophy and prize money of 500,000 pounds (approx. 581,000 euros) at the second attempt on Friday evening (9 p.m.). Before the tournament started, a final between van Gerwen and Littler or Humphries had emerged as a dream final. After the defending champions were eliminated by Peter Wright in the round of 16, the path was clear for Littler.
Bunting quickly gets over his nervousness, but can’t slow Littler down
Even Bunting couldn’t change that. The 39-year-old quickly got over his initial nervousness, but was hardly able to slow Littler down on his destined path to the final. The fourth in the world rankings impressed with 13 shots over 180 points, a three-dart average of 105.48 and a double rate of around 45 percent.
Littler started the game fantastically, securing the first three sets including a high finish of 158 points and numerous legs with just four shots. Bunting tried as best as he could to keep up with the world class of “The Nuke”, but in the end his limitations were clearly shown. With his first match dart, Littler made it into the final and the duel with world number three van Gerwen perfect.
“Mighty Mike” starts the match with a 180
Van Gerwen, who has repeatedly had sporting misfires in recent years Alexandra Palace performed with concentration from the start and quickly gained a lead. His first shot in the game was a perfect 180. In the end, the Dutchman had won 18 legs, Dobey only won ten. There was never really any tension.
Netherlands’ Michael van Gerwen celebrates winning the set
Van Gerwen lost three World Cup finals
After victories over former leader Gerwyn Price (Wales) and Northern Irishman Josh Rock, Dobey missed out on improving his World Cup by reaching the final for the first time. In the world rankings, he still improved by five positions to tenth place.
Van Gerwen won his three world championship titles in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Compared to his years of dominance, his returns at the biggest tournament in the world are rather meager. He lost the finals in 2013 (against Phil Taylor), 2020 (against Peter Wright) and 2023 (against Michael Smith). With a final win, van Gerwen would return to second place in the world rankings. The clear number one remains Luke Humphries.