Darts
PDC World Darts Championship 2025: Van Gerwen Ready to Embrace Underdog Status Against Littler
Michael van Gerwen reaches his seventh PDC World Final, embracing underdog status against 17-year-old Luke Littler, as he eyes a fourth world title and ends a six-year drought.
PDC / Taylor Lanning
The penultimate day of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship saw the final four players take to the stage at Alexandra Palace. In the first semi-final, three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen faced Chris Dobey, who was making his debut in the Ally Pally semi-finals.
Chris Dobey Defeated
A win for Dobey would not only secure his first appearance in a televised PDC ranking final but also provisionally place him in the top four of the Order of Merit, guaranteeing a spot in this year’s Premier League. For Van Gerwen, a veteran of nine Ally Pally semi-finals, the stakes were equally high as he sought to end a six-year wait for a fourth world title.
Dobey could only produce one moment of magic with a 170 checkout—the fabled ‘big fish’—but it was not enough to derail the Dutchman. Van Gerwen’s clinical performance earned him a dominant 6-1 victory and a place in his seventh PDC World Championship final.
Youngest PDC World Champion
He now prepares to face 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler in tomorrow’s highly anticipated decider.
If Littler emerges victorious, he will shatter Van Gerwen’s record as the youngest-ever PDC world champion.
Van Gerwen claimed his first world title in 2014 at the age of 24, a mark that Littler could comfortably beat. However, Van Gerwen dismissed the significance of records, emphasising that his focus remains solely on winning titles.
“He’s still got years. With his capability, it will surprise me if he’s not going to do it,” Van Gerwen told SportsBoom.com.
“I don’t really care; I don’t look at stats. The same people talk to me about beating some of Phil Taylor’s records—I don’t care. It’s all about what you do now, and whoever’s in your path. You have to face it and beat it.”
Underdog Status
Remarkably, for the first time in his career, Van Gerwen enters a PDC World Championship final as the underdog. Even in his first final in 2013, when he faced the legendary Phil Taylor, he was the bookmakers’ favourite.
Against Littler, however, the odds are stacked against him—a position he seems to relish.
“I was the favourite two years ago and lost. Now I’m not favourite, and maybe I’m going to win it. You never know,” Van Gerwen said with a smile.
Asked if the underdog status makes him more dangerous, given that the pressure is no longer on his shoulders, the Dutchman kept it simple.
“We’re going to see tomorrow,” he concluded.
With the final looming, Van Gerwen’s experience and confidence will collide with Littler’s youthful exuberance and unrelenting rise in the sport. Darts fans worldwide eagerly await what promises to be an electrifying showdown on the Ally Pally stage.
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