Littler sets up Van Gerwen final

Could Darts have a new world champion?

Luke Littler produced a sensational performance to thrash Stephen Bunting 6-1 and book his place in the PDC World Championship final against Michael van Gerwen.

Author - Sophie T 

At just 17 years old, Littler is aiming to become the youngest-ever winner of the tournament, a year after finishing as runner-up. Over the past 12 months, the teenager has become a household name in darts.

In his semi-final at Alexandra Palace, Littler delivered his best performance of the tournament, averaging 105.48 to overpower his fellow Englishman.

Three-time champion Van Gerwen, who defeated Chris Dobey 6-1 in Thursday’s other semi-final, became the youngest winner in 2014 at the age of 24.

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Fourth seed Littler has grown in confidence throughout the tournament and raced into a commanding 4-0 lead against Bunting. He claimed the first set despite Bunting averaging an impressive 113.35 and maintained his dominance from there.

Although Bunting, the eighth seed, managed to win the fifth set, he missed three crucial doubles in the next, allowing Littler to extend his lead with a clinical 84 checkout on the bullseye. Littler then brought the crowd to its feet with a stunning 170 finish to seal the win in style.

The teenager’s commanding performance included 13 180s and three ton-plus checkouts, showcasing why he has become one of the most exciting players in darts.

Littler’s meteoric rise has seen him climb from 164th to fourth in the world rankings since his dream run to the final in January 2024, where he lost to Luke Humphries. He has since claimed 10 titles in his debut professional year, earned over £1 million in prize money, and was crowned BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

Meanwhile, third seed Van Gerwen, who last lifted the trophy in 2019, is chasing his fourth title but has twice fallen short in the final since his last triumph.

A closer look again on the impact that Littler is having

It’s not just his talent—though his talent is truly extraordinary. It’s not just his youth—though his youth is astonishing. And it’s not just the speed of his rise—a meteoric ascent that’s shaken the world of darts. This is a player breaking every convention, defying everything we thought we understood about the sport.

For years, darts has been seen as a craft, not an art—a skill honed over decades, not an innate perfection that arrives fully formed, like a flawless debut album. It’s a sport where apprenticeships are traditionally served in pubs, often fuelled by a few pints and hours in the practice room before a match.

Mastering the stage, commanding a raucous and sometimes hostile crowd, is supposed to be the hardest skill of all—the one that takes the longest to perfect. Playing to the gallery is meant to end in disaster, and there are unwritten rules, like avoiding the awkward double 15 wherever possible.

And then there are the unwritten limits: no one wins the Premier League, the Grand Slam, and the World Championship in their first full season. And, let’s be honest, some still believe darts isn’t something people truly care about. Yet here he is, tearing up the rulebook and proving all those assumptions wrong.

His success has also boosted the sport’s popularity, with the number of junior darts academies doubling in the past year. Google named him the UK’s most searched-for athlete of 2024.