Littler makes history as double World Champion

Littler makes history as double World Champion: Analysis of the World Darts Championship Final, brought to you by The Bahrain Darts Masters

Luke Littler yet again made history at Alexandra Palace, as a packed house witnessed the 18-year-old claim back-to-back World Championships. He is the first player to do so since Gary Anderson in 2016. Whilst the victory itself may not have come as a surprise given his dominance and darts quality over the tournament, the huge margin of victory of 7-1 against the Dutch rising star Gian Van Veen, was perhaps not a scoreline that many would have predicted.

Littler was relentless in his quality over the eight sets, never allowing Van Veen a chance to settle, pouncing on every double missed by the Dutchman. Littler averaged just over 106 over the course of the match (for reference, anything over 100 is considered world class), a number which reflected his consistency in scoring. Combined with his almost 50% success rate on hitting checkouts, there are few, if any, current players who could match these levels over a long format match.

Van Veen came into the final with some confidence, beating both Luke Humpries and Gary Anderson on his way to the final. He also established himself at the new Dutch number one in the process, overtaking Michael van Gerwen to the top spot. Prior to the World Championships, he had won The European Championships, as well as defeating Luke Littler twice in 2025. Together with Littler, he very much represents the future of darts, which makes the one-sided scoreline even more impressive from the Englishman.

The nature of Littler’s rise to stardom cannot be underestimated. His has lost just once in his three years playing at Ally Pally. He becomes only the fourth player to have won the title in consecutive years and is one of only seven players to have won the title more than once. All at the age of 18. He has far to go to reach Phil Taylor’s achievement of 14 victories, but given his trajectory, even those great heights remain possible.

As for the tournament itself, the event was another spectacle like no other. Even with the addition of extra days compared to previous years, the entire event sold out in minutes, a reflection of how popular the sport has become across the world. The fancy dress didn’t disappoint and there was drama at every corner. Whilst the final itself couldn’t provide the same edge-of-your seat experience as some of the earlier matches, the chance of watching Littler’s masterful display was enough to keep the crowd and the millions watching on TV from across the world more than happy.