WC in darts 2026 – final
England’s Luke Littler became world champion in darts for the second time shortly before his 19th birthday. In London’s Alexandra Palace, he managed a successful defense, as the first player since 2016.
In the final, he literally overwhelmed the Dutchman Gian van Veen. Although he lost the opening set, he dominated the battle of the most talented young darts players with a score of 7:1.
Such an unequivocal result was born in the final of the world championship last time in 2009, when Phil Taylor defeated Raymond van Barneveld.
By winning the second title, he joined compatriot Adrian Lewis, Canadian John Part and the pair of Scots Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.
During the entire tournament, Littler lost only four sets and confirmed the position of the main favorite. In addition to the trophy, he can also enjoy a bonus of one million pounds.
Course of the 2026 World Darts Final
The Dutch darts player started the finals with a serve and in the opening leg he closed 116 points with the 12th dart. Littler could have countered with a finish of 161, but missed the red center.
With the score 2:2 at the legs, both players chose a weaker moment for a double, but in the end van Veen was more successful, who took the lead after doubling the number four.
He famously started the second set, when he first closed with 145 and then 121 points. He seemed to have the upper hand and could build a solid lead early in the final.
However, the opposite was true. Littler survived the opponent’s arrow while closing again with 121 points and with three consecutive leg wins, he leveled the current score at 1:1.
After the second commercial break, van Veen returned to the podium with a winning leg, but he was behind his opponent until the next break. Littler scored better, closed well and immediately took a 3:1 lead.
In about 10 minutes, he won six legs in a row, while also shining by closing the 170, which he traditionally celebrated by imitating catching a big fish.
Littler’s streak was interrupted by van Veen at the beginning of the fifth set with a great combination for 137 points (57, 40 and 40), but this did not phase his opponent. First, he dealt with the wasp attack to start another successful streak.
VIDEO: Luke Littler was scared by a wasp during the 2026 World Darts final
With three winning legs, he grabbed the fourth set in a row and was so fired up that only a few doubted his successful defense of the world champion title.
“After five sets, Luke has an average of 107.06 points. Even if the Dutchman finds his best form again, if Littler continues like this, the turnaround is unlikely to be possible,” wrote BBC Sport editor Sam Drury.
Many fans wanted an even fight for the Sid Waddell trophy, but Littler did not let up and, unlike other duels, was constantly focused.
Legs were happily added to his account and gradually even van Veen looked more and more frustrated. In the sixth leg, he even injured his hand and left a bloody dot on the target, which had to be replaced.
From the aforementioned 0:1 on legs in the fifth set, Littler won ten legs in a row and was within reach of a second title. He finally sealed it in style when he threw a 180 with 327 points remaining and then closed with 147 points.
“This is how the great era of darts begins,” said Nova Sport commentator Pavel Korda, who predicted a 7:3 win for the young Englishman before the start of the final.
VIDEO: Luke Littler defended his title at the 2026 World Cup in Darts
“After the first set, I wasn’t satisfied at all, but luckily it turned around immediately after the break. After that, everything went according to plan, even though Gian was constantly on my heels. It’s a great feeling to defend the title,” said the champion.
Littler also thanked announcer John McDonald and referee and caller George Noble. Both legendary names say goodbye to professional darts just after this year’s championship.
For Gian van Veen, advancing to the final is the biggest success of his career. At the same time, the two-time junior champion moved to third place in the ranking.
“It wasn’t my best match. I couldn’t take advantage of the chances and Luke showed why he is deservedly world number one and a two-time champion,” he added.
