Luke Littler Wins 2025 PDC World Championship
Tonight, we witnessed the passing of the torch and the dawning of the Luke Littler era as he won his first PDC World Darts Championship against Michael van Gerwen. Beating van Gerwen 7-3, Littler transitioned from the prince of Alexandra Palace to the king of Alexandra Palace.
The opening set felt cagey between both players, but it was Luke Littler that triumphed and won the first set 3-1 on the Michael van Gerwen throw.
Despite the nerve-wracking start, both players came back determined for the second set. However, Luke Littler's scoring prowess and his infamous double 10 began to come into play. Littler won the second leg 3-0, averaging 115 to take a 2-0 lead in sets.
Michael van Gerwen was more settled in the third set winning the first leg. Despite the strong start and high scoring, Mighty Mike's struggles with finishing legs continued. With little room for errorm, Luke Littler held his nerve and showed van Gerwen his strength in finishing. Luke now had a commanding 3-0 lead in sets.
By the fourth set 'The Nuke' was in full, destructive flow. As the first leg reached its crescendo Luke Littler was left on 70, in devestating fashion he hit the bull to leave his favourite double 10 finish, a theme that continued through the night. The second leg was finished in equally confident style as Luke hit 88 to finish, giving him a 2-0 lead. Not to one to be steam rolled so easily, Mighty Mike fought back to win the third leg, but this did not deter Littler who claimed the fourth legt and the fourth set in a row.
Littler was in full control of the final having raced away to a 4-0 lead, with Michael van Gerwen only winning 3 legs in the entire match to this point. Littler's doubling was fantastic and was beginning to define the match, an extraordinary trait for the 17-year-old darts pro, especially considering his much more experienced opponent.
Image by Kieran Cleeves/PDC
In the fifth set, Michael van Gerwen came back stronger winning the first leg. Seemingly unphased, Littler responded with a 130-point checkout to level the fifth set 1-1. Michael van Gerwen took the next two legs, showing a glimpse at what had got him here and has made him a legend of the game. A brilliant 132 checkout confirmed the fifth set for van Gerwen, taking the game 4-1.
Luke Littler started the sixth set with blistering pace hitting six perfect darts but narrowly missed out on the 9-darter with his seventh dart hitting treble 1. Despite the rare miss, 'The Nuke' still managed to clean up and claim the leg. It was a tight set, with high-quality darts thrown from both players, the set was poised at 2-2 as one more leg would claim the set. Luke Littler took the final leg of the set, hitting his reliable double 10, meaning he was just two sets away from winning his first PDC World Darts Championship.
In the seventh set, Michael van Gerwen again showed why he was on the stage with Luke, averaging over 100, he made clear he was not there to simply make up the numbers. The seventh set was again at a deadlock with the score 2-2 in legs, this time Michael van Gerwen won the deciding leg which made it 5-2 in sets.
There was a break in play and both players came back for the eighth set with Luke needing just two more sets to win the title, while van Gerwen needed a miraculous recovery unlike ever witnessed before. Luke Littler started the eighth set by finishing with his favoured double 10 in the first leg and then going on to hit double 20 twice to wrap up the eighth set 3-0. The score was now 6-2, with Luke only needing one more set to end the game in his favour.
In the ninth set, while Littler was looking to end the game, Michael van Gerwen showed he was not yet done. Holding his own during this potentially match deciding set, he again showed his best and took the game to 6-3 in sets. The determination from Michael van Gerwen and the look on the darts legend's face showed how much this meant, he wasn't just fighting for this World Championship, he was also trying to retain his status as the youngest player to ever win the World Darts Championship, a feat he achieved back in 2014 at the age of just 24.
The tenth set was underway and again everything was on the line. Littler won the first set thanks to his reliable double 10 once again. In the second leg he broke Michael van Gerwen's throw, meaning the 17-year-old teenage prodigy was one leg away from winning his first World Championship. In that final set, 'The Nuke' left 132 but missed a dart at double 16 to end it all. Littler did not make the same mistake on his return, pinning double 16 to claim his inaugural PDC World Championship.
Both players displayed an astonishing 100 plus averages, which made for a thrilling final with Littler’s doubling being the defining factor in his victory. Luke Littler finished the night averaging 102 and an amazing 56% on the double, making The Nuke the youngest-ever PDC World Darts Champion.
The trophies were still coming for Luke, to cap a record breaking evening, 'The Nuke' was also presented with the Ballon D'art (a play on football's Ballon D'or award) by Sir Chris Hoy for most 180's in the tournament.
Review the full events of the PDC World Darts Championship and re-live the tournaments biggest matches and talking points. You can also find all the Target Darts players merch and information so that you can support your favourite players from this years tournament.