Luke Littler is preparing to face Michael van Gerwen (Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)
Luke Littler has vowed to change his approach as he prepares to face Michael van Gerwen in the World Darts Championship final tonight (Friday). The 17-year-old sensation has reached back-to-back finals but will hope to go one step further this year to claim his first world title.
‘The Nuke’ earned an emphatic semi-final victory on Thursday night, at Alexandra Palace. Three-time champion had already sealed his place in the final after beating Chris Dobey by the same scoreline.
Despite being the tournament favourite, has not been fazed by the pressure following his sudden ascent in 2024. The teenager has looked relaxed on the Ally Pally stage, notably fist-bumping his opponents between sets, but Littler has insisted that he will be all business against Van Gerwen in the final.
When asked if he intended to have the same rapport with Van Gerwen during the final, Littler said: “No… There will be no fist bumps after sets, I’m pretty sure. Of course, it’s the final and we’ve both got to stay focused. I can’t wait for it tomorrow.”
The friendship between Littler and Bunting was picked up on by the Sky Sports commentary team on Thursday, with pundit Mark Webster calling for the players to make the match more of a battle. “They’re fist-bumping a bit too much,” . “It’s the semi-final of the World Championship! There’s a lot of respect up there. Maybe I’m just being a bit harsh.”
Webster is not the first person to question Littler’s approach toward his opponents. Dutch player Vincent van der Voort, who is close friends with Van Gerwen, compared Litler’s calm demeanour to Gerwyn Price’s fierce celebrations and other antics on the oche.
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Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler will play for the World Championship title (Image: Getty)
“That’s actually how it should be anyway. At least [Price is] someone who wants to compete. You shouldn’t just let him lead you to the slaughter, after all,” Van der Voort told the podcast.
“I’d rather have that than Littler against Aspinall running around fist-bumping each other after every set. With the fist-bumping I’m done at a certain point. Afterwards you’re just okay with each other, but at that point just try to have a little fight with each other.”
It seems that Littler is ready to ditch his friendly approach for the eagerly anticipated final. The teenager boasts a higher tournament average than Van Gerwen, with 102 to 99. In terms of their head-to-head record, they are level with six victories each, trading wins in the Bahrain Darts Masters and the Dutch Darts Masters finals earlier this year.