Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen face off today in the World Cup final.Image : www.imago-images.de
Tonight the dream World Cup of Darts final takes place at the legendary Ally Pally (from 9pm in the Watson live ticker). Michael van Gerwen, three-time world champion, meets Luke Littler, a 17-year-old teenager. This is what the two protagonists say before the big meeting.
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This duel promises excitement and could become one of the greatest darts games in history. Great talent Luke Littler is competing in a World Cup final for the second time in a row and will meet three-time world champion and long-time dominator Michael van Gerwen.
Since last year’s World Cup, Luke Littler has been the big star in the darts industry, which is why the teenager is also nicknamed the ‘Prince of the Palace’. All the noise around the 17-year-old may not please everyone in the darts circus. Michael van Gerwen in particular seemed a little jealous of all the hype surrounding Littler.
His opponent in the final today criticized Luke Littler. Last spring, the youngster was added to Forbes magazine’s famous 30under30 list, which includes 30 young athletes, gamers and entrepreneurs from the world of sports and video games. Van Gerwen said at the time: “With all due respect, he hasn’t won anything yet. If someone hasn’t won anything yet, they shouldn’t be on such a list.” The Dutchman added: “He’s always the one chasing me. »
However, we can now say that Luke Littler has already won a lot. The Englishman was, for example, crowned winner of the Premier League. Besides the World Cup, the Premier League is one of the most popular darts tournaments on the calendar.
Here’s how Littler won the Premier League:
Van Gerwen: “You don’t just want to feel the trophy”
Tonight, Van Gerwen is aiming for his first World Cup final victory after two defeats in 2020 and 2023. Ahead of the big match, van Gerwen once again generated some excitement, as he said before the finale: “I’ve been to this point so many times in my career. You don’t just want to smell the trophy, you want to touch it,” and “Mighty Mike” continued aggressively: “Luke was in the finals last year and he just sniffed it. I’ll make sure he can keep sniffing it.
Michael van Gerwen last won the World Championship in 2019.Image : EPA/EPA
After his confident victory in the semi-final against Stephen Bunting, Littler was very happy to reach the final again: “This is already a breathtaking tournament for me. I’m so happy to have won the semi-final. I can’t wait. When ‘The Nuke’ was asked how he was preparing for the finale, he replied:
“I’m going to relax a bit during the day before things really get going in the evening.”
If Littler, who lost the final 4:7 to Luke Humphries last year, left the stage as a winner today, he would be the youngest PDC world darts champion. His current opponent is currently the youngest PDC world champion: in 2014, at the age of 24, Van Gerwen won the biggest darts tournament for the first time. What Littler is certain of is that there will be a “damn good match” between the two opponents.
Balanced balance between the two finalists
In 2024, the two stars have met twelve times. Both managed to achieve six victories each, with the most important victory for Van Gerwen being the World Matchplay victory. The Dutchman won 10-6 against Littler and was so disappointed with his performance after the defeat that he posted an Instagram story after the match in which he wrote: “Embarrassing” and added a photo of a trash can .
Can Luke Littler keep smiling like that after tonight’s finale?Image: keystone
In addition to the equivalent of 560,000 francs, the winner of the final will also receive the 23 kilo Sid Waddell Trophy. It will take seven sets to win today. A set is won after three sets have been won. The first throw will take place around 9 p.m. and can be followed in our stream or ticker.
This was probably the toughest match possible for Dario Wüthrich. The Ambri-Piotta defender played against the SCL Tigres yesterday, even though his long-time girlfriend, snowboarder Sophie Hediger (†26), died in an avalanche accident shortly before Christmas.
Yesterday afternoon, Ambri-Piotta published a letter from his lawyer Dario Wüthrich. In that speech, the 25-year-old explained that he would be on the ice against the SCL Tigers, even though he lost his longtime girlfriend just before Christmas. Cross-border commuter Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche accident above Arosa.
