A man with the darts world in his hands
Luke Littler claimed the biggest crown in darts- and the tournament continues to keep on giving
The Alexandra Palace in London is steeped in history, but ask sports fans about it and their first comment will have something to do with darts. The PDC World Darts Championships is the showpiece event of the darting calendar, and the 2025 tournament wrapped up with a title victory for the ages.
Luke Littler erupted onto the darts scene by reaching the 2024 final, and he went on to show that this wasn’t a flash in the pan. The 17-year-old won 10 titles in 2024 including the Premier League and went into the 2025 World Championships full of hope to get the sought-after title. Reigning champion Luke Humphries started well, but suffered a fourth-round defeat to another former champion Peter Wright.
This didn’t necessarily pave the way for Littler to push for the title, and his match against Ryan Joyce was tighter than the man from Warrington might have hoped. However, he dispatched whoever stood in his way, setting up a box office contest against three-time world champion Michael Van Gerwen.
Any concerns of Littler having nerves were extinguished in the opening exchanges. Littler plays darts with more confidence than most seasoned pros, and he didn’t give MVG a sniff as he raced into a 4–0 lead. The writing seemed to be on the wall from this point and despite some resistance from the Dutchman, Littler ended up winning 7–3 and his first World Championship title with it.
Littler was humble in victory, and the tears of joy when he sank the winning dart were well deserved. A phenomenal first year as a professional has been followed up with the biggest win of them all. He is an exceptional talent, and he makes the sport look easy. It’s not often Van Gerwen looks rattled, but he looked out of ideas on Friday night in London.
At times MVG might have considered himself unlucky having barely put a foot wrong. He was beaten by a player who was outsourcing and outfinishing him, and many players have fallen to Littler in the last 12 months.
I’m a big fan of the Dutchman, and he is a model sportsman when it comes to defeat. His humble nature had no hint of spite, and he had plenty of positive words to say about his opponent. MVG will be back and with another packed year of events underway, you’ll see him with plenty of silverware in his hands in 2025.
The curtain has come down on another Ally Pally darting dynasty, and we were treated to some incredible matches. Players will be keen to take the momentum into these, with the Bahrain Masters due to get underway on January 16- a tournament that Littler won last year.
This World Championship once again showed to darts fans seasoned and casual that it is one of the best tournaments in sport. It is the darts event that every new player wants to make an instant impact in and Luke Littler with his two final appearances and one title is proof of this. The Littler effect is real, and the next big name to burst onto the oche will be here soon enough- and that’s great for the sport.
