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Teenager Littler to face Van Veen in World Darts Championship final
Teenager Littler to face Van Veen in World Darts Championship final
Teenager Luke Littler blew away fellow Englishman Ryan Searle at London's Alexandra Palace on Friday to qualify for his third consecutive World Darts Championship final.
The defending champion and current world number one, who turns 19 later this month, bounced back after losing the first set to win his semi-final against the 38-year-old Searle 6-1.
On Saturday, Littler will defend his title against Dutch European champion Gian van Veen, 24, who beat veteran two-time champion Gary Anderson 6-3.
"I went 1-0 down, I wasn't the happiest," Littler told Sky.
"I thought I didn't play that well. Everyone knows I want to go 1-0 up.
"Big shout out to Ryan. He's done amazingly this tournament, he can be proud. We go again tomorrow."
Littler reached his first final two years ago when he was just 16, losing to Luke Humphries but he came back last year to claim the title against the Netherlands' Michael van Gerwen to become the youngest world champion in darts history at 17.
His popularity has dipped this year after reacting to fans cheering for his opponents.
"You guys pay for the tickets and you pay for my prize money so thank you, thank you for my money! Thank you for booing me," he snapped earlier in the week after beating former world champion Rob Cross, prompting some boos on Friday.
In the second semi-final, Anderson took the opening set before Van Veen came back strongly to charge into a 4-1 lead.
But the 55-year-old Scotsman showed all his quality as he battled back by winning the next two.
"Gary threw everything at me, his finishing was great," said Van Veen.
"The crowd was a bit against me, but it's fair play because Gary is so fantastic."
Crucially Van Veen held firm to win the next set and move into a 5-3 lead, closing out another tight set to book his place in the final.
"My parents used to drive me all around the Netherlands to play, it's all been worth it," said Van Veen.
"I never thought this would happen. It's not a dream come true, I never even dreamed about it!"
The 2026 world champion will receive £1 million , double last year's purse.
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