Luke Littler defeated Stephen Bunting 6-1 to set up a live World Darts Championship final against Michael van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace on Friday.
Littler is in his second World Finals in as many years, and after failing in the big dance against Luke Humphreys in 2024, he has the chance to make the final push and claim the World title in 2025.
His stats were incredible in the semifinals, averaging 105.48 with 13 180s and a 44 percent doubles success rate.
In the opening semi-final, Van Gerwen dismantled Chris Dobey by the same margin to reach his seventh final and set himself up to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for a fourth time.
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Luke Littler beat Stephen Bunting 170 drams to move one foot away from the final of the World Darts Championship.
The 17-year-old Littler will face the 35-year-old Dutchman Van Gerwen live on Friday night. Sky Sports’ main event and: Sky Sports Darts from 7:30 p.m.
The pair have met 12 times in their careers with six wins each.
“If we both come out like we did tonight, it’ll be a really good (final),” Littler said. Sky Sports after his victory.
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Littler nails an 84 cash to put himself 5-1 up against Bunting
“As soon as Luke Humphreys came on, that’s what everyone was looking at, but I had to focus on the quarter-final and the semi-final. Now I’ve done that, I can focus on Michael tomorrow.
“We all know he’s chasing his fourth world title, I’m chasing my first.
“Like last night, go home, rest and come back tomorrow.”
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Stephen Bunting and Luke Littler shared a beautiful moment as ‘The Bullet’ finally took the first set of their semi-final clash to make it 4-1 to Littler, while ‘The Nuke’ got the crowd going for Bunting as he doubled up to 20- the
Littler shows the classes to book the World Finals
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Stephen Bunting and Luke Leiter blow the roof off Alexandra Palace ahead of their semi-final clash
After making the Worlds final on his debut in 2024, Littler is only the seventh player in history to reach back-to-back finals.
The opening set was a tight contest between the pair, with Littler coming out with some clinical doubles, but with both averaging over 100, it was clear that it was going to be a high-scoring contest.
With the oldest player remaining in the competition facing the youngest, the 39-year-old’s double was impeding his progress and it allowed Littler to jump to a 3-0 lead, 158 boxes and a 105.75 boundary average on the way.
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Littler scored 158 against Stephen Bunting in the semi-final clash
Bunting showed guts and real character to fight back to make it 4-1, but after missing a set shot to make it 4-2, Littler came into the clutch and fired an 84 on the bullseye to concede himself for
The 17-year-old then put himself one foot away from the final in the most remarkable fashion as he turned the sinking tops of Big Fish, The Nuke, to write his name in the history books once again.
MVG moves past Dobey to book the final spot
Van Gerwen took the Aly Pally stage for his semi-final in the zone and took a 1-0 lead against the throw before stealing the second set in the deciding leg, Dobey missing three darts in doubles to level the game.
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World Darts Championship semi-final highlights between Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey
Although he got off to a rough start, Dobie then lived up to his ‘Hollywood’ nickname and turned in ‘The Big Fish’ and 108 to take the fourth set and put himself back in contention.
Dobey’s brilliant set was a short-lived moment for the match, although Van Gerwen responded with whites of his own and a stunning average of 107 to quickly lead 3-1, the next three.four legs, giving him a four-set lead.
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Chris Dobbie has landed a huge big fish in the third set as he looks to battle Michael van Gerwen in a World Championship semi-final clash.
The Green Machine was just too much of a force for Dobey to overcome and en route to a 158 in the sixth set, then a break in the seventh, he cemented D16 to claim a spot on the biggest stage of all;
“You always have ups and downs, but today I had the right mindset. Even when things didn’t go my way, I made good things at the right times,” Van Gerwen said. Sky Sports.
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Michael van Gerwen defeated Chris Dobey in the semi-finals as the Green Machine claimed their biggest result of the tournament.
“Winning at this stage, especially in the semi-finals, means a lot to me, my family is watching and it means a lot.
“We still have a long way to go. Tomorrow is another day. That’s what you keep saying to yourself. I don’t want to be wrong.”
“I love performing on stage. It’s my life. Of course, I have a family now. I enjoyed it tonight.”
What’s next?
Littler will face Van Gerwen in the final of the World Darts Championship, which will be broadcast live on Friday January 3 from 7.30pm on Sky Sports.
World Darts Championship kicks off 2025 live darts on Sky Sports, including Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts.
Littler is the reigning Premier League champion after beating world No.1 Humphreys in last year’s final, but will he go into this year’s event as world champion?
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch the final exclusively live on Sky Sports’ special darts channel. Stream darts and better sports with NOW!.
