Littler and van Veen
World versus European champions: darts final for record prize money
Luke Littler is 18, Gian van Veen is 23 years old. The World Cup final in London features the two best professionals of the new generation. The roles are clearly assigned.
At the end of the first Darts World Cup with 128 professionals, a real highlight is on the program at Alexandra Palace in London. Defending champion Luke Littler from England will meet Dutch European champion Gian van Veen in the evening (9 p.m./Sport1 and DAZN). In addition to the huge Sid Waddell Trophy, the winner also receives record prize money of one million pounds (around 1.15 million euros).
In the semi-finals, Littler (6:1 against compatriot Ryan Searle) and Van Veen (6:3 against Scot Gary Anderson) won confidently. The duel between the 18-year-old Littler and the 23-year-old van Veen symbolizes the generational change that has taken place in darts, where, unlike before, the world elite is dominated by young professionals.
This is Littler. “The Nuke,” as the Englishman is called, breezed through the World Cup without any problems and only had any problems in the 4-2 win against Rob Cross in the round of 16. After 2024 and 2025, it is the third World Cup final for the young star, who wants to secure his second title in the Ally Pally. “Everyone knows what Luke can do. I have to do my best tomorrow, otherwise it will be a very difficult game,” said van Veen.
In his debut year, Littler won six out of seven games, and in his world championship year it was six out of six. After six more wins at this World Cup, the world number one has a World Cup record of 18 wins and one defeat. Van Veen, on the other hand, needed some time to get going at the most important tournament in the world. In his first two participations he lost his opening match, last year against the German Ricardo Pietreczko.
Either way, Littler will remain number one in the world rankings by a huge margin. If he wins the final, he would be over 1.5 million pounds ahead of long-term rival Luke Humphries, who lost to van Veen in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Littler could not be pushed out of first place for the time being – even if he didn’t play at all for more than half a year. Van Veen is currently third and could take second place with the title.
Both professionals received boos and whistles on the way to the World Cup final. Littler was already caught in the round of 16 against Cross, whereupon he fought with the supporters from the stage. “You pay for tickets and you pay my prize money. Thank you for booing me,” Littler said with a red face towards the fans.
Van Veen received whistles in the semifinals because the audience wanted to see a longer match against crowd favorite Anderson – but the 23-year-old kept his nerve and didn’t allow the former world champion from Scotland to make a big comeback.
dpa
