World Darts Championship live: Luke Littler thrashes Gian van Veen to win back-to-back world titles
Littler hammered fellow young gun Van Veen 7-1 with a scintillating performance to claim a second World Darts Championship title at Alexandra Palace in as many years
Luke Littler overcame the Ally Pally wasp to thrash Gian van Veen and cement his position as one of the greats of the sport after winning back-to-back World Darts Championship titles.
The 18-year-old joins Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson in winning successive crowns and he is the new king of Alexandra Palace. Littler burst onto the scene with an epic debut run to the final two years ago and has not lost on that stage since after a masterful 7-1 win over Van Veen, which earned him a record £1m prize cheque.
With an average of almost 106, 15 maximums and a 'Big Fish' 170 checkout, this was one of the great final performances. He has been a tour de force over the last year, winning five of the last six major tournaments, and looks set for an era-defining period of domination similar to what Taylor enjoyed.
Indeed, his biggest obstacle on a trouble-free night was the reappearance of the Ally Pally wasp, who made a beeline for Littler in the fourth set, causing a short delay while both players and referee George Noble swatted it away. Even though the final was not the close contest people were expecting, Van Veen has emerged as a serious contender and Luke Humphries is still his number one rival, but Littler has been virtually unbeatable in all of the big tournaments.
Relive all the action from the final at Alexandra Palace with our live blog below:
Gian van Veen reflects on disappointing defeat
Gian van Veen spoke up on the stage after his defeat and was left frustrated by his display but full of praise for his opponent.
“The scoring maybe tonight wasn't my greatest game in the whole tournament,” admitted Van Veen. “Luke wasn’t in the mood to give me any more chances. He played phenomenally.
“I missed too many chances to make it an even game. That’s why he’s world number one by a margin now and back-to-back world champion.
“Today I would have liked to lift up the title but I would have liked to give Luke a game and that's what I didn’t do today.
“I'm very proud of getting to the final, number three in the world now, Dutch number one. I'm very proud of myself but disappointed today.”
Luke Littler cements status among darts greats with dominant World Championship win over Gian van Veen
Come at the king, you best not miss. A record 128 players started the World Darts Championship on 11 December and seven took their shot at reigning champion Luke Littler along the way. Some fans turned on him too and his walk-ons were regularly accompanied by a smattering of noisy boos.
Yet no one could knock him off his stride, not even rising star Gian van Veen, who was ripped limb from limb by a ruthless Littler on the Alexandra Palace stage as the champion retained his crown.
At times it has seemed like the whole darts world is against him. This was a different Littler to the boy who triumphed 12 months ago against Michael van Gerwen on the same platform: a snarling, snorting Littler, hurling darts like he’d pinned the face of a sworn enemy to the board, ripping them out of the treble-20 bed after each of his 16 180s with feeling.
His onslaught was stalled only twice, first by a wasp that attacked his head during the fifth set, and then when the board had to be changed after Van Veen smeared a spot of blood across single five in the latter stages. Minutes later he bled out in a brutal 7-1 thrashing.
Read Lawrence Ostlere’s full report from Alexandra Palace:
Luke Littler cements status among darts greats with dominant World Championship win
More from Luke Littler
Here’s some more reaction from Littler after that victory.
“I was getting closer and closer to the winning line but you can’t think of it too much,” said Littler. “It [the trophy] is right next to you on stage but you’ve just got to keep going.
“Not a chance [would I have imagined being here when I first started playing darts]. I didn’t think it would be anything like it has been. I’ve been practising, the family and friends have always been there to support me.
“It’s very special. We've got to keep going, we’ve got to keep adding more titles. We can’t stop here. We’re still on this rollercoaster.”
Littler seals £1m prize
A reminder of what Luke Littler has won this evening – not only the trophy but the £1m winner’s cheque, the largest in darts history. Gian Van Veen leaves with £100k for being runner-up.
Here’s what Littler has to say about the prize: “It is life-changing for anyone. Even the first round was doubled. It’s life-changing, this win has just increased that gap from Luke Humphries and I’m in the clear as world number one.”
World Darts Championship 2026 prize money
- Runner-up: £400,000
- Winner: £1,000,000
Luke Littler: 'So nice, I had to do it twice!'
Luke Littler has spoken to Sky Sports after winning his second world title and was understandably delighted.
Littler said: “It feels amazing. First of all, I've got to say thank you to John McDonald [MC] and George Noble [match referee, both retiring] – what fantastic careers they have had.
“Everyone knows what happened with Anthony Joshua and his team, rest in peace to his friends. But it’s just like AJ said... ‘the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice’!
“I wasn't happy going into the break 1-0 down, but I had to kick on from there. I said just give it time, you'll find it. It all came to plan. Gian, what a tournament though, he can be very happy for himself.”
WATCH: Luke Littler lifts the World Championship trophy for the second time
Here’s the moment Luke Littler lifted the trophy again. How many of these is the 18-year-old going to win throughout his career?
Luke Littler lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy for the second year running 🏆🙌
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2026
Simply incredible from the 18-year-old, who scoops the £1million prize ☢️ pic.twitter.com/xSXSE3eEKk
Emotional Littler wins his second world title
Luke Littler becomes just the fourth man to win back-to-back world titles, following Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis. And he’s only 18...
Incredible stuff. And The Nuke is understandably emotional at his victory
Luke Littler wins the 2026 World Darts Championship
Incredible stuff - Luke Littler absolutely blew Gian van Veen away. There’s huge celebrations as he fist pumps, runs to the side of the stage and screams with joy.
Then he’s in tears at his table and congratulated by Van Veen. There was nothing the Dutchman could do today
LITTLER GOES BACK-TO-BACK 🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2026
Luke Littler is your 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Champion 🙌
The Nuke takes out a show-stopping 147 checkout to win his second Sid Waddell Trophy in trademark style 🤩
📺 https://t.co/59TualjgND #WCDarts | Final pic.twitter.com/Rw7J4djseK
Littler 7-1 Van Veen - LUKE LITTLER IS WORLD CHAMPION
Could this be the leg? Will Littler finish it with a break of throw. He’s down to 147, the first to a finish.
Treble 20... Treble 19... And nails double 15! HE’S DONE IT - LUKE LITTLER IS WORLD CHAMPION ONCE AGAIN. WOW!
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