Luke Littler is one win away from becoming the first man in a decade to win back-to-back World Championships and a familiar foe is standing in his way.
Littler sauntered through to his third successive final with a 6-1 demolition of Ryan Searle and he is looking ominously invincible on an Alexandra Palace stage where he has lost only once in 18 matches.
Few would back against him lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy and pocketing a cool £1million on Saturday, but Dutchman Gian van Veen has designs on ending Littler’s reign.
Van Veen booked his place in a first final with a dazzling display to beat Gary Anderson in an instant classic on Friday night.
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.
A 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.
“Gian has been coming through the ranks, I think a year before me on the tour,” Littler said.
“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.”
Van Veen was the favourite going into that Minehead final against Littler, but knows the tables have turned.
“During that game, I played well,” he said. “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.”
