Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen – how the rivals match up ahead of final
Littler is trying to win his first World Championship title while Van Gerwen is chasing a fourth.
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Your support makes all the difference.Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen will face off in a blockbusting World Championship final on Friday night.
They are the two biggest names in the sport, with Littler trying to win his first world title while Van Gerwen is chasing his fourth.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the players match up.
Head to head
Van Gerwen has spent a lot of 2024 telling his fellow players on the PDC Tour that there is no reason to be scared of Littler, despite his unprecedented success. And the pair have developed a great rivalry during the teenager’s first 12 months on the scene with their 12-match contest tied at 6-6.
There were some high-profile victories for Van Gerwen in there, notably the final of the Dutch Darts Masters and the opening round of the World Matchplay, but Littler won the semi-final in the World Series of Darts.
Littler’s rising star
Ever since he announced himself to the world this time last year, Littler has not only been the biggest name in darts but also transcended it.
He finished second in BBC Sports Personality of the Year and was the UK’s most Googled sportsman of 2024, as well as making a host of appearances on prime-time chat shows.
And that has undoubtedly put Van Gerwen’s nose out of joint as the Dutchman was the main man following Phil Taylor’s retirement. Winning the title would restore some order in his mind.
Route to the final
Littler was the pre-tournament favourite and has so far lived up to the bill. He put in a record-breaking performance in his opening round win against Ryan Meikle, with the highest ever single-set average, but was made to work hard against Ian White and was taken to a final-set decider against Ryan Joyce in the fourth round.
He was at his dominant best against Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals before putting in his best display of the tournament when he dismantled Stephen Bunting in the semi-final.
Van Gerwen has taken advantage of being on the other side of the draw to Littler and has made serene progress against players he would always expect to beat.
He began in a hurry against James Hurrell before taking out Brendan Dolan and Jeffrey de Graaf to set up a quarter-final against the surprise package Callan Rydz.
Rydz gave him his biggest challenge of the tournament to date but he triumphed 5-3 before trouncing Chris Dobey 6-1 in the semi-final.
Tournament stats
Luke Littler’s power scoring has helped him through to the final. The 64 180s he has thrown is a tournament high, while also boasting the highest three-dart average with 102.13.
Life might have been even more comfortable for him had he been clinical on the doubles, as he currently has a 41 per cent checkout rate, though he has taken out the ‘big fish’ 170.
Van Gerwen is second in the race for the Ballon d’Art, having thrown 43 maximums so far. His average is slightly below Littler’s on 99.75 but he has a better checkout rate at 44 per cent. In any other year, these numbers would make him the standout player in the tournament, but not now Littler is in town.