World Darts Championship LIVE: Luke Littler gets through tricky test against Ryan Meikle to reach third round
The 17-year-old began his quest to create history at Ally Pally and dethrone Luke Humphries after falling one short earlier this year
Luke Littler began his quest for PDC World Darts Championship glory with the biggest name in the sport beating Ryan Meikle 3-1 in the second round at the Ally Pally.
On an off night for the teenager he managed to clinch the opening set by checking out 100 against the throw. Meikle was not to be beaten in a flurry though and fought back to level the match 1-1 after the second. A break of throw to win the third set signalled that Littler was finding his range and he stepped up in the fourth.
A 10-dart leg and and an 11-dart leg were enough to sweep his opponent aside but Littler was too emotional to take part in the post-match interview after claiming his win.
Elsewhere, the legendary Raymond van Barneveld was beaten by Wales’ Nick Kenny and dark horse Damon Heta faced Connor Scutt in a stacked evening session.
Follow all the action with our live blog below at Ally Pally on Day 7 of the World Championship:
How can I watch?
You can watch the PDC Paddy Power World Darts Championship 2024/25 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel from 15 December, with a live stream on Sky Go and Now TV.
When is Littler playing and what’s his route to the 2025 final?
Luke Littler’s first match, in the second round, will be against Ryan Meikle, who defeated Fallon Sherrock on Tuesday night.
The match will take place on Saturday, 21 December. The match is third in the order of play for the evening session, which starts at 7pm GMT, so we can expect the match to start at approximately 9pm GMT.
In round three, the highest seed is Ritchie Edhouse, then in round four Danny Noppert could stand in his way.
A quarter-final against Rob Cross is on the cards before defending world champion Luke Humphries in the semi-finals. The final could see Littler face a number of former world champions, including Michael Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson.
Darts player Sandro Eric Sosing taken to hospital minutes before World Championship match
Philippine darts player Sandro Eric Sosing has withdrawn from the World Championship on “medical grounds”.
Sosing felt chest pains while practising ahead of his first-round match with Ian White at Alexandra Palace in north London, and was taken to hospital for assessment.
Sosing is ranked 225th in the world, and is one of a quartet of players from the Philippines taking part in this year’s World Championship. The 41-year-old, who won his first Asian Tour title in March, qualified for the tournament after finishing runner-up in the PDC Asian Championship.
Darts player taken to hospital minutes before World Championship match
Sandro Eric Sosing fell ill shortly before his first-round match against Ian White at Alexandra Palace
Who are the top seeds?
- Luke Humphries,
- Michael Smith,
- Michael van Gerwen,
- Luke Littler,
- Rob Cross,
- Dave Chisnall,
- Jonny Clayton,
- Stephen Bunting,
- Damon Heta,
- Gerwyn Price,
- Dimitri Van den Bergh,
- Nathan Aspinall,
- Danny Noppert,
- Gary Anderson,
- Chris Dobey,
- James Wade,
- Peter Wright,
- Josh Rock,
- Ross Smith,
- Ryan Searle,
- Andrew Gilding,
- Martin Schindler,
- Joe Cullen,
- Mike De Decker,
- Dirk van Duijvenbode,
- Daryl Gurney,
- Gabriel Clemens,
- Gian van Veen,
- Ritchie Edhouse,
- Brendan Dolan,
- Krzysztof Ratajski,
- Raymond van Barneveld.
World Darts Championship prize money
Winner: £500,000
Runner-Up: £200,000
Semi-Final: £100,000
Quarter-Final: £50,000
Fourth Round: £35,000
Third Round: £25,000
Second Round: £15,000
First Round: £7,500
Total: £2,500,000
World Darts Championship Saturday 21st schedule
Saturday 21 December
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Karel Sedlacek v Rhys Griffin (R1)
Richard Veenstra v Alexis Toylo (R1)
Brendan Dolan v Lok Yin Lee (R2)
Chris Dobey v Alexander Merkx (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
Danny Noppert v Ryan Joyce (R2)
Raymond van Barneveld v Nick Kenny (R2)
Luke Littler v Ryan Meikle (R2)
Damon Heta v Connor Scutt (R2)
Luke Littler vs Ryan Meikle
Luke Littler is back at the Ally Pally this evening for his first match as this year’s Darts World Championship and will face off againt Ryan Meikle in the second round.
The pair are up third in the evening session (which begins at 7pm) and should put on an entertaining encounter. Littler is one of the favourites to win the whole tournament so should be able to get through without too much trouble but there have already been some big scalps defeated and he’ll need to be switched on tonight.
World Darts Championship 2025: Scores, schedule and results
The PDC Paddy Power World Darts Championship 2024/25 is underway as Alexandra Palace delivers its usual thrills over the festive period.
Luke Humphries is back and ready to defend his title after triumphing over teenage sensation Luke Littler in the final in January - with a potential rematch set for the semi-finals.
As the Littler effect sweeps across the sport, ‘The Nuke’ enters this year’s championship as favourite, with ‘Cool Hand Luke’ and former world champions Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson among the main contenders.
Mike De Decker and Michael Smith suffered shock early exits, with Ritchie Edhouse one to watch with 96 players competing for the iconic Sid Waddell Trophy and a £2.5m prize pot. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s championship:
World Darts Championship: Scores, schedule and results
Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen are among the main contenders battling out for the £500,000 top prize at Alexandra Palace
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