PDC World Darts Championship favorite Luke Littler reached his second successive final of the tournament by defeating Stephen Ponting 6-1 in the fourth round.
Littler averaged 106.15 on his way to winning the first four sets at London's Alexandra Palace, including eight 180s and a 48% conversion rate on doubles.
Luke Letelier reaches the finals of the World Darts Championship! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/B5prHiMbnq
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2025
In a brilliant and impressive contest, the 17-year-old hit 13 180s to help fend off a spirited challenge from Ponting.
Immediately before the second semi-final, Van Gerwen produced a relatively dominant display to claim his seventh semi-final win of the tournament, beating Chris Dobbie 6–1.
Luke Littler is very good at darts.pic.twitter.com/8P8Z2JrrH6
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2025
Letler vs. Bunting
Littler was rarely troubled by world number eight Ponting, whose previous best performance at the event was a semi-final in 2021.
The 39-year-old had the dart to make it 4-2, but Littler's most emphatic display of his campaign to date quickly dashed the Liverpool player's slim hopes of a comeback.
After losing to Luke Humphries in last year's final, Littler appears to have hit his peak at the right time, with his final average of 105.48 being his highest of the tournament to date.
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2025
Van Gerwen waits for Littler
Three-time champion Van Gerwen has ended a six-year wait to make his tournament run, including a 158-run exit during the sixth set, and will face Littler on Friday (8pm GMT).
“It would be unbelievable… there were a lot of great moments,” Van Gerwen said. Sky Sports. “The fans love it, the people at home love it – what more do you want? This is darts at the highest level and that's what we want to do.
He added: “We are still very far (from winning). I still have to fight. (Friday) is another day and the address is far away. That's what you have to keep telling yourself.
People's champion ❤️ pic.twitter.com/C2xUSzKged
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2025
“I don't want to make mistakes. I want to keep it that way. A 99 average is not that bad. I'm happy with the performance… I was efficient.
“When I had to do things, I did it at the right moment and that's what you have to do to win games. You always have ups and downs, but today I had the right mentality. Even when things didn't go my way, I produced good things in the right moments.
Final confirmed! Michael van Gerwen will face Luke Littler tomorrow night, live on Sky Sports 🍿🎯 pic.twitter.com/cKKJI80Sa7
– Sky Sports (@SkySports) January 2, 2025
Littler v van Gerwen
Littler beat Van Gerwen 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Czech Open Darts Championship last October, winning despite the Dutchman averaging 112.19 points per game.
This was the highest average loss ever on the European Tour, while Littler scored 110.57. Van Gerwen averaged 99.75 in the tournament, compared to Littler's 102.13.
