Luke Littler beats Michael van Gerwen to claim maiden darts world championship

Luke Littler beat Michael van Gerwen to win the world darts championship. Photo / AFP

Luke Littler has assumed his place atop the world of darts.

In his 7-3 demolition of three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen, the 17-year-old phenom claimed his maiden world title in a fashion that few could have expected.

“I can’t believe it,” he told Sky Sports as the crowd at Alexandra Palace, London, roared.

“Everyone dreams of lifting this trophy, but you’ve got to get through a tough field even before qualifying. I can’t believe it.”

The signs were ominous for van Gerwen from the opening leg; getting two trips to the oche to close it out but going bust on the first and missing two darts at doubles on the second before Littler stole it.

That was the beginning of a remarkable start for the 17-year-old, who won 12 of the first 15 legs of the match to take a commanding 4-0 set lead.

Van Gerwen began to fight back as he took two of the next three sets, but when Littler made it 6-2 it seemed a question of when, not if, he would capture the crown.

That question was answered quickly as he broke the van Gerwen throw to take a two-leg lead, before closing out the match with a double 16.

“Two-nil up [in the last set], I started getting nervous,” said Littler. “I said to myself ‘just relax.’ I was throwing for the match – I would’ve thrown for the match either way, but to get it over and done with then was special.”

While both men put up big numbers in the contest, with their three-dart averages above 100 points and 25 180s throws between them, Littler’s consistency – particularly on the double 10 – proved to be the difference.

Littler finished 12 of his 21 winning legs by hitting the double 10 and was almost automatic at that target. The young Englishman converted on 56% of his checkout opportunities, while van Gerwen only capitalised on 37%.

Littler also didn’t allow van Gerwen to get comfortable; being able to stay with his Dutch rival on high-scoring legs and putting pressure on the three-time champion to hit his checkouts.

When he didn’t, Littler was often there to make him pay.

“In the beginning of the game I was letting myself down too much and when you do that against a player with his ability and his performance, you’re going to be in trouble. That’s how it was, but it is what it is,” said van Gerwen.

“I always take my hat off to people that beat me, and if they beat me in a good game, fair to them, that’s how sports work.”

Ultimately, the night turned into the Luke Littler Show as the 17-year-old was able to go one step further than his runner-up finish against Luke Humphries in 2024, in which Humphries won five sets in a row to claim the title.

“Tonight, and throughout the tournament, I just needed to get off to a good start,” Littler said.

“No one will know this, but earlier today I watched all of the game back against Luke [Humphries], and I just had the visions.”

The win saw Littler take van Gerwen’s mantle as the youngest player to win the PDC world championship, with van Gerwen’s first title coming in 2014 when he was 24.