World Darts Championship LIVE: Luke Littler returns at Ally Pally against Ryan Meikle
The 17-year-old begins his quest to create history at Ally Pally and dethrone Luke Humphries after falling one short earlier this year
Luke Littler begins his quest for PDC World Darts Championship glory tonight with the biggest name in the sport taking on Ryan Meikle in the second round.
With reigning champion Luke Humphries, who edged him out in last year’s final, breezing through on the opening night in just 16 minutes, a lot is expected of the 17-year-old ahead of a potential semi-final showdown between the friendly rivals.
‘The Nuke’ will surely have no problems here, though the outsider admits he is treating tonight’s second round like a cup final after beating Fallon Sherrock earlier this week.
Elsewhere, look out for the legendary Raymond van Barneveld and dark horse Damon Heta in a stacked evening session.
Follow all the action with our live blog below at Ally Pally on Day 7 of the World Championship:
Chris Dobey reacts to victory at World Darts Championship
“It was a tough one, I knew what to expect, I knew he wouldn’t play like that again, I stayed focused, don’t beat myself up, put myself under pressure,” Dobey tells the PDC.
“The 122 was a key moment, it was a had to go moment, luckily it went in.
“[The celebration] doesn’t happen very often, but people having a go, it was for them. Shots like that, if you can give it, it can get into your opponents’ head.
“You can’t dwell on things like that [last year’s loss], you just want to prepare for the next moment. I put that aside straight away, been practicing hard, my floor game has been brilliant. I’m happy where my game is at.”
Even in defeat, Noa-Lynn van Leuven wins as World Darts Championship embraces first transgender player
As Noa-Lynn van Leuven approached the stage, red hair flowing and lipstick shimmering under the lights, it was hard to know what the reaction would be.
Throughout the long history of sporting crowds, from the Colosseum of Rome to this cathedral of darts just off the north circular, at their most basic level they can choose a binary response to their environment, with cheers or with boos. How would the World Championship at Alexandra Palace respond to its first transgender competitor?
A few minutes earlier there had been a gentle hum of boos as Van Leuven’s face was displayed on screen for a pre-match interview. There were a few wolf whistles as she stepped to her mark at the start of the runway. But if there were any murmurings of disapproval as she stepped on stage, they were drowned out firstly by her walkout song, “Euphoria” by Loreen, and then by the majority of giddy fans.
Even in defeat, Van Leuven wins as World Championship embraces first trans player
Van Leuven made history as she stepped on to the stage at Ally Pally before falling to defeat by fellow Dutch player Kevin Doets
Darts World Championship results: Chris Dobey through but with work to do
Chris Dobey looks a dangerous prospect at Ally Pally now, after taking out Alexander Merkx 3-1 to reach the third round.
He’ll face Rhys Griffin or Josh Rock next, which should be a cracker.
Dobey, the world No.15 has been tipped by many to go far, his average could make him a danger to the favourites, though his finishing must improve.
A 95.62 average is handy, but his checkout rate was 25 percent (9/36), which leaves a lot to be desired and even handed Merkx hope at one point.
Darts World Championship talking points
The future of the Palace?
Christmas, darts and Ally Pally – they are three things that are synonymous with each other.
But whether this is the last time the famous north London venue holds the World Championship remains to be seen after PDC chief Barry Hearn hinted at moving away to satisfy demand.
The Littler effect has helped tickets sell out in record time for the 2025 tournament so a bigger venue could be on the cards, while the big financial rewards of moving to Saudi Arabia have also been mentioned.
Darts World Championship talking points
The best of the rest
While Humphries and Littler have dominated the sport over 2024, part of their success has been due to the decline of others.
Michael van Gerwen has had a surprisingly poor year while Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright no longer challenge at the top of the game in the way they did when they became world champions.
They will be hoping they can recapture their best form on the biggest stage, but a host of lower ranked players in the other side of the draw to Humphries and Littler will be eyeing their chances of a run to the final.
Darts World Championship talking points
Living in the Lukes’ world
The year started with a battle of the two Lukes as Humphries beat Luke Littler in the 2024 World Championship final and a strong rivalry has emerged.
They have been the best two players on the tour by some distance, winning six of the 11 televised major titles between them, while also contesting five finals.
The draw means that there will not be a repeat of the 2024 final as they are slated to meet in the semi-finals in what would be a mouth-watering battle.
Darts World Championship latest
We’re into the final match of the afternoon action and so far it’s been clean sweeps across the board.
Wales’ Rhys Griffin dispatched Karel Sedlacek 3-0 in the opening match and Alexis Toylo won by the same scoreline over Richard Veenstra.
Both Griffin and Toylo now advance into the second round.
Brendan Dolan, who is seeded 30th, also progressed through his second round match having beaten Lok Yin Lee 3-0 as well.
Chris Dobey will take to the stage next.
Stephen Bunting survives scare to beat Kai Gotthardt at World Championship
Stephen Bunting was given a huge scare before defeating Germany’s Kai Gotthardt 3-1 in the first round at the Darts World Championship.
Bunting, the reigning Masters champion, narrowly escaped falling 2-0 behind after Gotthardt missed three attempts at double eight and instead the eighth seed levelled the match at 1-1 before cruising to victory.
Gotthardt had made a flying start, landing a hat-trick of 180s and nailing all three of his attempts at double to secure the opening set.
Stephen Bunting survives scare to beat Kai Gotthardt at World Championship
Filipino Sandro Eric Sosing withdrew after feeling unwell.
World Darts Championship Format
First Round: Best of five sets
Second Round: Best of five sets
Third Round: Best of seven sets
Fourth Round: Best of seven sets
Quarter-Final: Best of nine sets
Semi-Final: Best of 11 sets
Final: Best of 13 sets
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