- Luke Littler insists he has learned from last year’s 7-4 defeat by Luke Humphries
- Humphries landed five sets in a row to beat Littler in the final last January
- Michael van Gerwen goes into his seventh final after thrashing Chris Dobey 6-1
Luke Littler has warned Michael van Gerwen that he will be a sterner opponent in this year’s World Darts Championship final than he was on his debut.
The 17-year-old booked his place in Friday night’s extravaganza at Ally Pally with a staggering 6-1 demolition of world number five Stephen Bunting, averaging 105.48 and nailing 13 180s.
Last year he lost out 7-4 to Humphries in his breakout season, losing five sets on the bounce to miss out on a debut crown.
But now he insists that that defeat only steeled him, as he fired a warning shot over to three-time champion Van Gerwen, who dispatched Chris Dobey 6-1 in the semis.
‘I’ve gained loads of experience. Obviously Michael has been in numerous finals and this is my second,’ Littler began.
‘I know where I went wrong last year and I’m sure I’ll fix it.
Luke Littler has warned Michael van Gerwen that he has learned from last year’s final defeat
The Nuke dispatched Stephen Bunting 6-1 with an average of 105.48 to book his final sport
Van Gerwen reached the World Darts Championship final with a 6-1 thrashing of Chris Dobey
Luke Humphries beat Littler 7-4 in last year’s final, winning five consecutive sets
‘I felt very confident tonight. The best I felt was against Nathan in the quarter-finals but I’m just glad I’m playing with confidence.
‘I’m hitting the shots when I needed to. Stephen was right behind me throughout the game and I just couldn’t step off the gas.
‘Everyone else is looking forward to it more than I am. But win seven sets and I’ll be happy.
‘It’d mean everything (to win). Win seven sets and I’ll be over the moon.’
Littler looked as if he might keep a clean sheet against Bunting when he went 4-0 up on Thursday night.
But the 39-year-old stole a set back and might have had another were it not for a phenomenal 170 checkout from Littler to make it 5-1.
There was no stopping The Nuke on a night where he made 39 visits over 140 and 77 upwards of 100.
It comes on the back of a year which has seen him win 10 PDC titles, including the Grand Slam and the Premier League.
But few opponents have more experience at the elite level than Van Gerwen, who enters his seventh final and looks to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time since 2019.