World Darts Championship final LIVE
Luke Littler thrashed Gian van Veen to win the PDC World Darts title for the second successive year in front of a raucous Alexandra Palace crowd on Saturday. The 18-year-old dropped the first set in the best-of-13-set showdown but hit back to stamp his authority on Van Veen who had no answer to Litter's relentless scoring.
World number one Littler never looked troubled, apart from during the brief appearance of a wasp, banging in 180s and high checkouts as he wrapped up a 7-1 victory to claim the one million pounds first prize. He is the first player to win back-to-back titles since Scotland's Gary Anderson in 2016.
Littler's victory charge was briefly interrupted during a dazzling spell of nine successive legs as the board needed to be replaced after Van Veen cut his hand and left a small blob of blood on the surface. Van Veen stopped the rot to win a leg in the eighth set but the laser-like focus of Littler was unbroken as he turned the final stages of the contest into a procession, sealing the title with a 147 checkout.
Littler vs Van Veen latest news
- Littler beats Van Veen 7-1 to retain world title
Luke Littler speaks
21:58 , Alex Young“[The prize money is] life-changing for anyone. Even the first round was doubled. It's life-changing, this win has just increased that gap from Luke Humphries and I'm in the clear as world number one.
“I didn't think it would be anything like it has been. I've been practising, the family and friends have always been there to support me.
"It's very special. We've got to keep going, we've got to keep adding more titles. We can't stop here. We're still on this rollercoaster."
Luke Littler speaks
21:55 , Alex Young"It feels amazing. First of all, I've got to say thank you to John McDonald and George Noble - what fantastic careers they have had.
"Everyone knows what happened with Anthony Joshua and his team, rest in peace to his friends, just like AJ said... the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice.
"I wasn't happy going into the break 1-0 down, but I had to kick on from there. I said just give it time, you'll find it. It all came to plan. Gian, what a tournament, he can be very happy for himself."
Littler picks up the record £1million prize money.
Van Veen will have to make do with £400,000.
Confetti rains down as Littler lifts the huge Sid Waddell Trophy.
What a champion. Back to back.
Great scenes as Littler, hands on his knees, is visibly emotional on stage.
Van Veen gives him a hug and a clap.
LITTLER IS CHAMPION AGAIN!
21:37 , Alex YoungA 147 checkout to seal back-to-back world titles!
He wins 7-1. Utter dominance.
Littler 6-1 Van Veen (2-1)
21:34 , Alex YoungLittler checks out D6 and he’s one leg away.
Littler 6-1 Van Veen (1-1)
21:34 , Alex YoungVan Veen is throwing well but he has accepted his fate. He gets back on the board.
Littler 6-1 Van Veen (1-0)
21:32 , Alex YoungVan Veen hits his ninth 180 to set up a finish, but Littler doesn’t let him at it.
Relentless.
Littler 6-1 Van Veen (3-0)
21:26 , Alex YoungVan Veen hits six perfect darts, but misses the seventh by a whisker.
He needs to check out the 96, but misses. Littler steps up and wraps up the set. He’s one away.
Littler 5-1 Van Veen (2-0)
21:24 , Alex YoungVan Veen finally gets a dart at a double, but fails to find the D16. Littler steps up to hit D20 and that’s a 2-0 win in the set.
Littler 5-1 Van Veen (1-0)
21:23 , Alex YoungLittler wins his seventh leg on the bounce, and 13 of the last 14. Van Veen isn’t getting a dart at a double any more.
Littler 5-1 Van Veen (3-0)
21:21 , Alex YoungVan Veen has lost all of his form as Littler cleans up another set.
The board is now being changed, by order of the official not the players.
Littler 4-1 Van Veen (2-0)
21:18 , Alex YoungVan Veen appears to have cut himself and has left blood on the dartboard, right on the lower part of the 5 segment.
Is it distracting to Littler? No. Who checks out on D5.
Littler 4-1 Van Veen (1-0)
21:17 , Alex YoungLittler goes six perfect darts in to start the sixth set, but he misses twice at D20 to give Van Veen a chance.
But he misses twice at D10, and Littler doesn’t give him another.
Littler is averaging 107.
Littler 4-1 Van Veen (3-1)
21:10 , Alex YoungOh dear, Van Veen is taking risks now and it’s not paying off.
Littler may miss D10 but he hits D5. It’s 4-1.
Littler 3-1 Van Veen (2-1)
21:08 , Alex YoungLittler is in control. He hits D10 to break back and Van Veen is visibly annoyed.
Littler 3-1 Van Veen (1-1)
21:07 , Alex YoungNow the wasp is attacking the referees, but don’t worry Littler hits D20 to draw level in the set.
The Ally Pally wasp is back, and he’s got Littler bobbing and weaving!
Littler 3-1 Van Veen (0-1)
21:04 , Alex YoungVan Veen checks out 137, and he needed that. A great save of throw.
Littler is going through the gears now.
From one set down, he now leads 3-1 after two quickfire sets.
Van Veen is not struggling, but cannot keep up with the world no1!
Littler 3-1 Van Veen (3-0)
20:59 , Alex YoungLittler misses D12 to check out 136, but then lands the D6 to win a fourth set in quickfire fashion.
From losing the first set, Littler is suddenly, and firmly, in full control.
Littler 2-1 Van Veen (2-0)
20:57 , Alex YoungLittler is moving through the gears now. This is very much like his semi-final win over Searle.
Littler 2-1 Van Veen (1-0)
20:55 , Alex YoungHow does Van Veen react? He sets up a big fish of his own, but misses the second dart.
Littler hits back to win the leg. Van Veen now looks very frustrated.
Littler 2-1 Van Veen (3-1)
20:53 , Alex YoungThere’s the big fish! Littler checks out 170 to win the third set! Remarkable.
Littler 1-1 Van Veen (2-1)
20:52 , Alex YoungVan Veen hits the outside wire of the bull to miss a 127 checkout. Littler then steps up to break his serve with a 97 checkout.
Littler 1-1 Van Veen (1-1)
20:50 , Alex YoungLittler has the darts but two poor visits in the row opens the door for Van Veen. Can he take it? No.
Littler recovers to take out 112.
Littler 1-1 Van Veen (0-1)
20:49 , Alex YoungLittler starts with four perfect darts but again Van Veen’s scoring is just too good. He checks out at tops.
Littler 1-1 Van Veen (3-2)
20:44 , Alex YoungLittler takes out 116 to win his first set, just after Van Veen had set up a 170.
The levels on show here. Littler wins three on the bounce.
Littler 0-1 Van Veen (2-2)
20:42 , Alex YoungLittler goes five darts into a nine, but still Van Veen almost cleans up from 127.
Littler then checks out on D10!
The scoring. My word.
Littler 0-1 Van Veen (1-2)
20:41 , Alex YoungLittler misses a 117 check out at D16, but has cleaned up at D8.
The world no1 looks tense. It is a world final, after all.
Littler 0-1 Van Veen (0-2)
20:39 , Alex YoungLittler needs to hit back again throw, but Van Veen now checks out a 127!
Littler isn’t getting a chance at a double. Van Veen has won four on the bounce!
Littler 0-1 Van Veen (0-1)
20:38 , Alex YoungLittler with the darts but Van Veen puts the pressure on with his first 180.
He has 145 to check out... and does! Well then. A break of throw.
A thrilling first set goes the way of Van Veen.Two breaks, one missed 170 checkout.
First blood to the challenger.
Littler 0-1 Van Veen
20:32 , Alex YoungA first 180 of the match goes the way of Littler, and what a time to do it.
Van Veen sets himself up for the big fish, but misses bull. Littler gives him another go, but the tension is already rife as he misses D8!
Littler then misses tops and D10 twice! Van Veen finally lands D4 at the second attempt to win the first set!
Littler 0-0 Van Veen (2-2)
20:29 , Alex YoungVan Veen hits 162 as he looks to break back at the first attempt, but misses bull.
Littler returns but misses D5 to check out, meaning Van Veen gets a lifeline and takes it.
All square.
Littler 0-0 Van Veen (2-1)
20:27 , Alex YoungThree times Littler has missed the third for a first 180 on the final. Van Veen has had a tough three visits, failing to hit triple figures, before Littler wraps up on tops.
Littler 0-0 Van Veen (1-1)
20:25 , Alex YoungLittler misses bull for a 161 check out, but wraps up with D10 at his next visit.
Littler 0-0 Van Veen (0-1)
20:24 , Alex YoungVan Veen with the darts, and it’s a steady opening for both which the Dutchman wraps up in 12 darts on D20.
Littler vs Van Veen
20:23 , Alex YoungHere we go!
And now the world champion! Littler heads on stage to Pitbull’s 'Greenlight'.
Here comes Van Veen! His walk-on song is 'Astronomia' by Vicetone & Tony Igy.
We should be just a few minutes away.
We’ve just seen a competition winner get the chance to win £180k.
All he had to do was score 180 with nine darts. He only got 89, which is more than what I would have managed.
And he pockets £5,000.
AngryGinge has given us an update on Littler’s state of mind ahead of tonight.
“He's as calm as you like, he's just finished his Margherita pizza. He's absolutely buzzing and cannot wait to get out there.”
Asked for a message for his friend, he says: “Go out there and do your job.”
Not long to go now. Ally Pally is jumping, as ever.
Gian van Veen will throw first tonight after winning the bull-up.
Luke Littler will be looking to add to this tonight.
Van Gerwen's message
19:40 , Alex YoungMichael van Gerwen, who Littler beat in last year’s final, has posted a lovely message about tonight’s finalists.
He wrote: “Tonight, two exceptional talents step onto the biggest stage of our sport.
“Luke, the chance to go back-to-back as World Champion is something very few ever get to experience.
“Respect for what you’ve already achieved and for how you carry yourself at such a young age.
“Gian, watching you grow into the player you are today makes me incredibly proud.
“If the next Dutch World Champion carries your name, the future of our sport at home is in very good hands.
“Enjoy every second of it, stay true to yourselves, and let the darts do the talking. The stage is yours. Good luck to you both.”
Van Veen on facing Littler in 2024
19:35 , Alex Young"During that game, I played well. But, I think after that game, I said to myself, 'OK, now the whole wide world knows what Luke Littler was about', because going into that match, I was favourite with the bookmakers.
"It sounds really, really crazy to be favourite against Luke Littler, but that was the case at that time. So after that, I knew, of course, what Luke was capable of, and he showed it on that stage.
"And I said to myself, 'OK, you can give him a good game'. I missed double one to go 5-5. But then afterwards, we had so many great battles.
"Everyone knows what he's capable of. So I need to bring my A-game. Otherwise it's going to be a very, very difficult game.
"He's going to put me under pressure from set one, and it's maybe going to be 13 sets, so it's going to be very, very tough against him."
Littler on Van Veen
19:30 , Alex Young"Gian has been coming through the ranks, I think a year before me on the tour. I know him very well from the Development Tour.
“We've met a few times on the Pro Tour. I got the win over him in Minehead for my first PDC World Youth.
"Gian is just playing with absolute freedom. He's in the top four. He's in the Premier League so I don't think he's got much to lose."
Back in 2024
19:25 , Alex YoungA thrilling contest awaits, but this will not be their first battle where a world title is on the line.
Back in November 2024 at Butlin's in Minehead, a 16-year-old Littler beat Van Veen in the World Youth Championship.
It was a landmark moment for Littler as it earned him a ticket to the main event at Ally Pally and the rest is history - his mesmeric debut run to the final launched him into a global star and was the start of a journey which now sees him as the major force in the sport.
Van Veen's ascent to the top has taken longer and he won his first major tournament in October when he beat Luke Humphries to lift the European Championship.
Somewhat comically, aged 23, he returned to the Butlin's stage the following month to lift the World Youth Championship title for the second time.
Now he will get a crack at the senior title in a match that could develop into a great rivalry.
With a combined age of 41 between these two players, this is the youngest World Championship final in history.
Prize money
19:20 , Alex YoungIn addition to lifting the iconic Sid Waddell Trophy and reigning supreme as the best darts player on the planet, there are also enormous financial incentives on offer for the winner of tonight’s final.
The PDC have increased prize money across the professional darts circuit by an unprecedented £7million in 2026, with in excess of £25m up for grabs in total in their tournaments.
That includes a greatly enhanced £5m prize pot for the World Championship, which this year grew to a 128-player field, with the winner set to take home a cool £1m of that - up from £500,000, which had been the figure since 2019.
The runner-up prize money has also been doubled to £400,000, with Anderson and Searle having each made £200,000 by reaching the semi-finals.
As in 2025, main tournament sponsors Paddy Power are also paying £60,000 to any player who hits a nine-darter, as well as £60,000 to a random crowd member and to Prostate Cancer UK.
Winner: £1,000,000
Runner-Up: £400,000
Semi-Finalists: £200,000
Quarter-Finalists: £100,000
Last 16 losers: £60,000
Last 32 losers: £35,000
Last 64 losers: £25,000
Last 128 losers: £15,000
The prize
19:15 , Alex YoungHere’s the Sid Waddell Trophy, sitting on the stage tonight.
What Van Veen has said
19:10 , Alex Young"I am so happy. Winning this game... 10 years ago or five years ago, wherever I was, struggling playing darts.
"I remember three or four years ago I was in Barnsley in the Metrodome and I was struggling with dartitis. I was crying at the table and look at me four years later. It's all been worth it."
What Littler has said
19:05 , Alex Young"With what I've done, I can near enough say I'm playing just as well, with the titles, the averages, the amount of nine-darters on TV.
"Maybe if I [win tonight], then I might be on my same level [as the all-time great]. I've got every right to think I can, but I never, ever say I'm going to win it.
"Never, ever. I never say I'm going to win this and that. We'll just see how the darts go, because one day it's different."
Is Van Veen the man to beat Littler?
19:00 , Alex YoungPerhaps Gian van Veen can be the man to stop Littler after the rising Dutch star reached his first final.
Van Veen won an instant classic against Anderson in a see-saw match that finished just before 11pm.
Although Van Veen won 6-3 that does not tell the story of a thrilling tussle that could have gone either way.
Both men averaged over 102, they both took out a 170 finish and Anderson hit more 180s, but it was Van Veen's finishing which got the job done.
For significant periods of the match Van Veen, who has enjoyed a breakthrough year and is the new world number three, produced the standard which could match Littler.
The 23-year-old, who comically won the PDC Youth World Championship in November, is now just one win away from getting his hands on a maiden senior title and following in the footsteps of countrymen Raymond van Barneveld and Van Gerwen.
Littler looks unstoppable
18:55 , Alex YoungLuke Littler looked like an unstoppable force as he demolished Ryan Searle 6-1 in the last four, stretching his unbeaten run on the Alexandra Palace stage to 12 matches and counting.
Victory cements Littler's position as one of the giants of the game and it will take something special to stop him as he looks unbeatable over a longer format.
He averaged 105.35, hit 10 180s and took out 59 per cent of his doubles, amid a stretch of 11 successive wins, and there was still a strong sense that there was more to come from the audacious teenager.
His only disappointment was his failure to land a nine-dart finish, an insatiable itch that he has been so far unable to scratch.
He twice came close in the sixth set, with seven perfect darts in a leg he ended up losing after Searle took out a 'Big Fish' 170 checkout.
How to watch World Darts Championship final
18:50 , Alex YoungTV channel: In the UK, the final is being broadcast live on both Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Darts, with coverage beginning at 7:30pm GMT.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the action live online via the Sky Go app.
World Darts Championship final live
18:44 , Alex YoungGood evening and welcome to Standard Sport’s live coverage of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship final.
It’s world no1 Luke Littler taking on world no3 Gian van Veen at Alexandra Palace.
Littler is in his third consecutive final - in fact, he has never not reached the final when competing in the world championship - and is looking to become just the fourth man in history to retain the Sid Waddell Trophy.
But Van Veen is a man to be feared. He has the better head-to-head record over Littler, and saw off Gary Andersen last night in the semi-finals in a true epic.
The start time is scheduled for 8.15pm GMT. Stick with us.
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