Luke Littler confidently defends his title at the Darts World Championship. His challenger Gian van Veen has no chance in the final. Neither an animal attack nor blood on the board fazes Littler.
Luke Littler remains on the throne. For the second time in a row, the 18-year-old Englishman has been crowned darts world champion. Littler beat Dutchman Gian van Veen 7-1 in a one-sided World Cup final at London’s Alexandra Palace. By successfully defending his title, “The Nuke” is also the first player to collect the new record prize money of one million pounds.
Van Veen receives £400,000 for his first final appearance. He is the new number three in the world behind Luke Humphries. It was already clear when he reached the semi-finals that he would replace Michael van Gerwen in the rankings as the new Dutch number one after 13 years.
Littler against van Veen, world champion against youth world champion – the final pairing was the final proof of the new youngster era in darts. 18 years old (Littler) against 23 years old (van Veen) – there had never been a younger final. Due to his dominance over the last two years and his roaring tournament run with only three set losses, Littler was the favorite. But along the way, Van Veen had at least taken world number two Luke Humphries out of the tournament. Would he do the same with number one? And which side would the audience take?
Both players were booed during the tournament, Littler openly argued with the fans after the round of 16 victory over Rob Cross. Van Veen felt the displeasure of the spectators the day before in the semi-final against Gary Anderson, but showed no negative reaction. He even said “fair play” and explained what a legend and crowd favorite his opponent was.
Fan benefits for Littler
First indication: There were significantly more whistles for Littler at the walk-on, which was announced by John McDonald as Master of Ceremonies for the last time after almost two decades. Second indication: Just a few moments later they turned into chants for the world number one, which became louder and louder as the game progressed. Van Veen, on the other hand, received little support. Conclusion: Advantage for the defending champions.
The game started nervously on the board. Although Van Veen presented a 116 finish in the first leg, both had problems hitting the big numbers after Littler’s 1:1 in legs and scattered into the one or the five. Even Littler, who otherwise seemed so untouchable, seemed to have a certain nervousness about the final, which was reflected in three missed darts for doubles in the decider of the first set. Van Veen, even having missed arrows to win the set, was able to grab the follow-up.
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The short break apparently gave both of them the security they needed. Because the second set brought the expected world class. Van Veen cleared 145 and 127 points one after the other, but Littler survived a set dart from the Dutchman and turned the set with a 116 finish to level the set at 1-1.
The darts dominator of the last two years was now in his comfort zone. The next two sentences were a show of force. Littler won six of seven legs and reached 170 in one of them. The highest possible finish in darts was vacated for the 17th time during the tournament. Littler marked the success with a fishing gesture, as the 170 is also called the “Big Fish.” Van Veen’s body language, however, became progressively worse. When arrows went in the wrong direction, he shook his head or cursed under his breath.
Even animal help didn’t bring van Veen back into the game. In the fifth set, Littler was attacked by the legendary Ally Pally wasp, which had settled on players’ collars several times during the World Cup. The Englishman had to abort his throw and fled across the stage from the animal. “I say it every year. Someone has to plant them here. They just come out of nowhere,” he said later in the onstage interview. He still won the set 4-1 without any problems.
Because van Veen’s hand was bleeding and stained the board, the final had to be briefly interrupted when the score was 5:1 for Littler. The break didn’t help van Veen either. Van Veen never played badly, but Littler finished the game in his own world – and then checked 147 points to triumph. He converted his first match dart on double 18. Littler shouted his joy, but then had to pause for a moment. At his table, he buried his face in his hands as if he was trying to hold back tears. In the audience, friend Faith Millar cried with joy.
By the time of the interview on Sky Sports, Littler had collected himself again and was ready for a reference. “Man, the first time was so good I had to do it twice,” Littler said. The sentence “Man the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice” was said by British boxer Anthony Joshua after his victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. Joshua was crowned world champion for the second time in the rematch after a previous defeat against Ruiz Jr.
The defeated van Veen presented himself as a fair loser. “Luke wasn’t in the mood to give me more chances. He played fantastically, putting me under pressure in every leg and every set. I missed too many chances,” said “The Giant”.
The win also sees Littler extend his near-flawless performance at Alexandra Palace. 19 wins are offset by one defeat – the final defeat against Humphries on his debut in 2024. With the second win of the Sid Waddell Trophy in a row, Littler is now in the world rankings at 2.77 million pounds. Over £1.5 million separates him from second-placed Humphries. His supremacy in darts is therefore firmly cemented in the medium term. Even if Littler didn’t play a single tournament for six months, he couldn’t be pushed out of first place.
Luke Littler’s path to the title
- 1st round: 3-0 against Darius Labanauskas (Lithuania)
- 2nd round: 3-0 against David Davies (Wales)
- 3rd round: 4-0 against Mensur Suljovic (Austria)
- Round of 16: 4:2 against Rob Cross (England)
- Quarterfinals: 5-0 against Krzysztof Ratajski (Poland)
- Semi-final: 6:1 against Ryan Searle (England)
- Final: 7:1 against Gian van Veen (Netherlands)
Luca Wiecek is sports editor for WELT. He reported for four days at this Darts World Cup from Alexandra Palace in London.
