Luke Littler has become darts world champion for the second time. The 18-year-old Englishman defended his title with a 7-1 win against the hopeless European champion Gian van Veen from the Netherlands.
For his victory, Littler received the Sid Waddell Trophy, which weighs more than 20 kilograms, in addition to the record prize money of around 1.15 million euros, which was offered for the first time. “This feels breathtaking,” said Littler, who was the first professional since Scotland’s Gary Anderson to successfully defend the world title ten years ago, late Saturday evening on the largest darts stage in the world. Quoting British boxer Anthony Joshua, he said: “The first time was so good, I just had to do it again.”
Littler doesn’t give his opponent a chance
During the three-week World Championship, no one could really challenge Littler. And after the repeated triumph, Littler now leads the world rankings by a large margin.
The defeated opponent van Veen admitted: “Luke gave me absolutely no chance, he constantly put me under pressure. He’s fantastic, that’s why he’s number one.” Van Veen, who had never won a game at Ally Pally before this World Cup, can still look forward to his year and his World Cup tournament with satisfaction. The 23-year-old not only won the European Championship title, but also replaced compatriot Michael van Gerwen as number one in the Netherlands with his strong run in London. This had led the national rankings for 13 years.
Van Veen initially took a 1-0 lead against Littler, but Littler then turned the game around and gave him no chance. “My biggest advantage is that I’m already world champion,” Littler said before the game. “I’m going into the final with great confidence.” The Brit hit the triples and doubles brilliantly and took the early 2-1 lead with a 170 finish. Littler then quickly won set after set. A little later the game was over with his victory.
German darts professionals disappointed
The German professionals, who experienced a disappointing tournament, were nowhere near the level of the two finalists in London.
A quartet made it to the third round – but in this round Martin Schindler, Gabriel Clemens, Arno Merk and Ricardo Pietreczko all lost their games. This means that Clemens from Saarland remains the only German professional who made it to the semi-finals. The national leader Schindler slipped from 13th place to 15th place after the World Cup.
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