Imperious Luke Littler emphatically retains World Darts Championship title

Luke Littler sensationally retained the World Darts Championship title with a crushing 7-1 victory over Gian van Veen to become the first million pound winner at Alexandra Palace.

Littler emulated Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson by becoming only the fourth player in PDC history to defend the Sid Waddell Trophy, averaging 106 to demolish Dutch star Van Veen in just over 43 minutes of play.

The world number one – appearing in a third consecutive World Championship final – produced a devastating display, crashing in 16 maximums and pinning 46 per cent of his attempts as he stormed to glory.

Van Veen drew first blood after surviving four set darts in a dramatic opening set, before moving to the cusp of a two-set lead with consecutive checkouts of 145 and 127.

However, Littler – courtesy of a clinical 116 finish – completed the turnaround to level at one apiece, before following up a 116 checkout and an 11-darter with a sensational 170 finish to move 2-1 ahead.

The 18-year-old extended his winning run with a hat-trick of 15-darters in the fourth, and although Van Veen halted Littler’s charge with a sublime top-tops 137 to open set five, this only provided the Dutchman with temporary respite.

Littler produced another six-leg burst to extend his lead to 5-1, and Van Veen was unable to thwart the teenager’s relentless charge, wiring double 16 for a 146 rot-stopper midway through set seven.

The Dutchman then fired in six perfect darts as he fought to halt Littler’s march towards victory, but the Warrington wonderkid was not to be denied, firing in an 11-dart break to edge closer to glory at 6-1.

Littler then moved to the brink of victory with a 14-dart hold midway through set eight, before sealing the deal in sensational style, following up his 16th maximum with a magnificent 147 finish culminating on double 15.

“This feels amazing,” said an emotional Littler. “I wasn’t happy going into the first break at 1-0 down, but I had to kick on from there, and it came all together.

“Gian – what a tournament he had. He can be very proud of himself. In every set he was there, right behind me, so I had to take my chances.

“To win a million pounds – it is absolutely life-changing, and this win increases the gap between myself and Luke Humphries, so I’m further clear now as world number one.

“This is very special, but I’ve got to keep going. I want to keep adding more titles. I can’t stop here; I’m still on this rollercoaster!”

Van Veen succeeded Michael van Gerwen in becoming the new Dutch number one following his remarkable run at Ally Pally, dumping out former champions Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson along the way.

The 23-year-old was bidding to follow in the footsteps of Van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld by becoming the third Dutchman to claim the sport’s biggest prize, but was restricted to only eight legs from 31 played despite a 99.9 average.

“I’m obviously disappointed because I would have loved to lift this title, but I’m very proud to make the final,” insisted Van Veen.

“In the last few games I took all of my chances, and tonight I didn’t, but Luke was phenomenal. He put me under pressure in every single leg.

“Luke is a fantastic player. That’s why he’s the world number one and the back-to-back World Champion.

“I’m the Dutch number one now, so I’m very proud of myself, but obviously I’m disappointed with the result today.

“Looking back at this tournament, I’m very, very proud of what I’ve achieved, and hopefully 2026 is going to be a fantastic year.”

Littler now becomes just the seventh player to win multiple World Championship titles, joining Taylor, Lewis, Anderson, Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and John Part in that decorated club, after dropping just four sets across the tournament.

He also becomes the first player ever to break the £2million barrier on the PDC Order of Merit and takes his tally of major titles to ten.

Van Veen, meanwhile, has catapulted himself up to third on the Order of Merit after featuring in his second televised ranking final and scooping the £400,000 runner-up prize.