2 days Ago By The Independent
If ever there can be a calm before the storm amid the raucous, alcohol-fuelled cauldron of the at , this may have been it. While semi-final night can often be the highlight of the entire tournament, at points but never truly turned into an evening of darting classics that will live long in the memory. But the reward comes in what it has set up.
The storm . The final that, ever since was put in the as reigning champion Luke Humphries meaning the showpiece could never be , fans and organisers alike would have been hoping for. Littler taking on a rejuvenated .
Van Gerwen has the firepower to live with Littler and the name power to attract the casual fan, if the 17-year-old needed any help garnering interest in his remarkable quest for a first title. Their head-to-head record over the past 12 months is six wins apiece – whoever wins for a seventh time will be crowned world champion. Both men entered Thursday’s evening semi-finals as heavy favourites and ultimately delivered what was needed.
It wasn’t always spectacular but each outclassed their opponent, laying down a marker ahead of their heavyweight contest. Van Gerwen brushed aside a struggling – who wilted somewhat in his first WDC semi-final – winning 6-1 as a 98.84 average proved more then enough.
Littler followed that with a victory over a fan favourite, the supremely likeable , and was certainly pushed harder than his Dutch foe, yet still triumphed by the same 6-1 scoreline, as he averaged 105.48. The narrative threads that can be tugged on ahead of the final are myriad.
Perhaps the way Littler has burst onto the darting scene and the intensity of the accompanying spotlight are unique in the sport’s history. But if anyone can relate, it’s probably MvG. Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he was the darting tipped for greatness.
Although he ultimately took slightly longer to find his feet at the very highest level than Littler has, it’s worth noting that a lot of the “youngest” records that the Englishman has been setting – such as the “youngest player to achieve a televised nine-dart finish” – have been snatched away from Van Gerwen. If Littler beats him in the final, he’ll add “youngest man to win the PDC world title” to that list. In fact, he’ll smash it by seven years.
Littler is being touted as the man who will dominate darts for the next two decades and may even challenge Phil Taylor’s tally of 16 world titles. Ten years ago, that was the pressure being placed on MvG’s shoulders and, for a few years, he was nigh-on unbeatable. He racked up three World Championships, the last of which came in 2019, and from 2015-16 he won an incredible 13 of the 16 televised PDC ranking events contested in that time.
The Covid pandemic, combined with wrist surgery he underwent in 2022, derailed the Dutchman and he has struggled to recapture the brilliance he showed for so many years. But there have been signs over the course of the past fortnight that Mighty Mike is getting back to his best: his match average improved in every round until the semi-final, when he simply did what needed in averaging 98.94 to see off an outmatched Dobey.
Plenty has been written suggesting Littler’s march to a first world title while still being a teenager is inevitable. That is undoubtedly a remarkable tale but Van Gerwen returning from the relative doldrums to snatch a fourth world title, six years after his last, would be just as interesting a story. Both men laid down an immediate marker in their semi-final wins as Van Gerwen chucked a 180 with his very first throw of the match en route to 14, 12 and 15-dart legs to take the opening set, while Littler began with a 14-dart leg, then tossed back-to-back 180s in the second leg before holding his nerve to deny a surging Bunting with a 46 checkout to seal the opener.
Occasional moments of inspiration from Dobey, such as a “big fish” 170 checkout as he won the third set, threatened to make the first semi-final a contest but he ultimately failed to consistently live with MvG and the Dutchman steadily pulled away – picking his moments and hitting his doubles to cruise to the 6-1 triumph. As perhaps was to be expected, the 39-year-old Bunting provided a stiffer test for his teenage opponent in the second semi-final, not appearing at all overawed by the big stage. But as if to illustrate the challenge he was facing, Bunting averaged 113 in the opening set and still lost.
Littler repeated his deciding leg trick in set three and found a break in the fourth to push his match average above 106, while moving to 4-0 ahead and just two sets from the final. The increased quality compared to the other last-four clash was demonstrated by the fact the two Englishmen matched the 13 total 180s hit by Van Gerwen and Dobey before the end of the fourth set. But the relentless nature of Littler’s play meant Bunting couldn’t live with the teenager, as he finally got a set on the board by claiming the fifth, only to see his young opponent take out bullseye to snatch set six after he’d missed darts at double.
Littler then added a “big fish” finish, prompting a smirk towards his smiling opponent as he wrapped up a 6-1 win that sparked and fizzed but never truly ignited and won’t go down in the annals of great WDC semi-finals. If in the works, and it had been Humphries taking on Littler in an eagerly-anticipated rematch, then this night of action probably have caught fire. In some ways, that represents a missed opportunity, but perhaps a relatively low-stress passage to Friday night’s showpiece was exactly what was needed.
After all, there’s a storm coming...
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