Luke Littler said he will not change his routine ahead of facing Michael van Gerwen in the 17-year-old’s second consecutive PDC World Darts Championship final on Friday (8pm GMT).
Home favorite Littler, who lost last year’s show to Luke Humphries, beat Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semi-finals on Thursday to equal the score of 35-year-old Van Gerwen’s earlier win over Chris Dobey.
“I’ve played a lot better and won a lot of titles leading up to it, but that’s what we do – we’re going for the big one,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“We all know he’s chasing that world title, but I’m chasing my first. (My plan is) to go home, relax and come back (on Friday).”
LUKE LITTLER GOES TO THE FINALS OF THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/B5prHiMbnq
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2025
Littler is “looking forward” to facing Van Gerwen
Littler beat Van Gerwen 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Czech Darts Open in October, winning despite the Dutchman averaging 112.19 in the match.
This was the highest batting average on the European Tour, with Littler scoring 110.57. Van Gerwen averages 99.75 in the league, with Littler averaging 102.13.
“There are big companies all year, but I’m looking forward to the final,” Littler said. “If we both perform like we did (for the semi-finals), it will be really good.
“Once Luke Humphries went out (in the fourth round), that’s what everyone was looking at. I just had to focus on my quarter-final and semi-final and now I’ve done that, I can focus on Michael.”
The final is confirmed! Michael van Gerwen takes on Luke Littler tomorrow night, live on Sky Sports 🍿🎯 pic.twitter.com/cKKJI80Sa7
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) January 2, 2025
World Darts ‘amazing’ – Littler
Littler seems to be peaking at the perfect time, with his latest average against Bunting at 105.48 his highest in the league so far.
Van Gerwen ended a six-year wait to go all the way in the tournament, including a 158 checkout during the sixth set against Dobey.
“It’s been an amazing tournament so far,” Littler said. “People will say I was looking at the title all along, but I was looking at the first game against Ryan Meikle.
“Since then, I have defeated everything in front of me. I’m very happy to win.”
