Luke Littler is bidding for history by winning back-to-back World Championship titles at the age of just 18, but faces a stern test in the shape of Gian van Veen.
I think Littler can edge a thriller at Ally Pally, but expect Van Veen to play his part in a memorable final with the handicap market the play.
Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen - Tale Of The Tape
| Luke Littler | Category | Gian van Veen |
|---|---|---|
| England | Nation | Netherlands |
| 18 | Age | 23 |
| The Nuke | Nickname | The Giant |
| 1 | World Ranking (PDC OoM) | 10 |
| Winner (2025) | PDC World Champs Best | Final (2026) |
| 2/5 | Match Odds | 2/1 |
| 2/1 | Tournament Odds | 9/1 |
Head to Head
There is nothing to split the pair in six previous meetings with the head-to-head standing at 3-3.
The first was a Littler victory in the final of the World Youth Championship in 2023, while the other five came in 2025.
Littler won at the UK Open and most recently at the World Grand Prix, with a hat-trick of Van Veen wins in between in the Players Championship and two European Tour victories.
Luke Littler Form
Luke Littler's 2025 campaign has been impressive with the world number one dominating the sport.
Having won the World Championship at the start of the year, he added the Premier League, World Matchplay and Grand Slam to his dominant season of six titles in total.
Littler began is World Championship title defence with a bang, averaging 101 and hitting two ton-plus checkouts (124 and 120) in a whitewash of Darius Labanauskas.
He wasn't as fluent in the early part of his 3-0 second round victory over David Davies, but was eyecatching with a 107+ average as he thrashed Mensur Suljovic 4-0 in the third round.
Littler was booed by fans at Ally Pally during his fourth round win, despite the world number one averaging 106+ in a 4-2 victory over Rob Cross.
He subsequently dominated on the oche, beating Krzysztof Ratajski 5-0 in the quarter-finals and then winning the last five sets in a row to defeat Ryan Searle 6-1 with a 105+ average in a one-sided semi-final.
Gian van Veen Form
Gian van Veen came into the World Championships in the form of his life, having beaten Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries in the European Championship Finals.
The two-time World Youth Champion got the better of Cristo Reyes in his opening match at Ally Pally, before averaging 108 in a 3-1 victory over Alan Soutar.
The Giant sealed a comfortable 4-1 victory over Madars Razma in the third round and again brought his best to the Ally Pally stage in the fourth round.
Van Veen posted an average of 98+ as he defeated Charlie Manby 4-1 to continue his dream run in the World Championship.
Things got better still for the Dutchman as he thrashed world number two Luke Humphries 5-1 in the quarter-finals and another past world champion Gary Anderson 6-3 in the semis on Friday with 105 and 103 averages respectively.
Verdict
Gian van Veen has had a stunning run to the final of the World Championship and is riding high on confidence. I'm expecting the Dutchman to push Luke Littler all the way.
Luke Littler's experience of Ally Pally finals can see him through to what will be his second straight title, but expect this one to go all way the with over 37.5 180s in a high-scoring contest.
Live Stream
Visit our PDC World Championships Live Stream page if you want to watch this match via a mobile or tablet.