In 2025, Luke Littler was crowned as the PDC Darts World champion by defeating the Netherlands’ Michael Van Gerwen in the final 7-3. It was the first time the teenager won the PDC World Darts Championship, a year on from his loss in the final against Luke Humphries.
In December 2025, Littler began his title defence, which started against Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas. A 3-0 win for the world champion kick-started his road to the final, as he beat Rob Cross, Ryan Searle and others on the way to the final against Gian van Veen. The Nuke has only lost three sets during his journey to this year’s final, with two of those leg losses coming against Rob Cross. Littler has won four games without conceding a single set.
Van Veen was playing in the world final for the first time in his career, with the Dutchman dispatching Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries in his two matches prior to the final against Luke Littler.
The 23-year-old has also taken the Netherlands’ number one spot in darts, taking the title from Michael van Gerwen, who has been the country’s number one since 2012.
The final took place on 3 January, with Luke Littler looking to retain his title from Van Veen, who wanted to be the world number one for the first time in his career.
The first set began with both players setting into the final, but Van Veen took the lead, winning the first set. A potential upset was on the cards coming into the final, and the underdog found himself in the lead.
The next set, like the first, was at 2-2 in legs with the deciding leg settling who wins the second set. Luke Littler got his first leg on the board and brought the score level.
From the second set onwards, it was only one-way traffic in the final. The defending world champion won seven straight sets, defending his world title, while winning £1 million for being crowned number one.
Littler won 18 of the 22 legs played between himself and Van Veen from the third set up to the eighth, highlighting the teenager’s dominance at the oche in the final. Alexandra Palace witnessed a dominant display from the Northwest darts player, who has featured in all of the last three finals on the world stage.
Littler threw an average of 106.02, in comparison to Van Veen, who threw an average of 99.94. The Nuke also threw 16 180’s in the final, seven more than his Dutch opponent. Across the tournament, he hit a score of 180 73 times, which saw him retain the Ballon d’Art award.
The teen became only the fourth person to win the World Darts Championship back-to-back, with Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Michael van Gerwen being the other three players to do so.
Post-match, Luke was asked what is in store for him in the coming year, and what he will target to win. He said, “The Masters and the European Championships are the two that I really want to go for this year.”
The 18-year-old will also compete in the Darts Premier League in 2026, with him finishing as a runner-up in the competition in 2025. His debut season in the competition saw him win the league, beating Humphries in the final in ‘24. Two years later, Littler is eyeing up getting his hands on the trophy once again.
The 18-year-old during matches looks like he has been in the game for over a decade, finding matches easy to win and being comfortable on the world stage. The coming years for Littler could see him dominate the sport if he continues to play the way he did during the world championship this year.
