Teenager beats Dutchman 7-1 in one-sided final
Littler clicks into gear after losing opening set
The winning moment seemed to drain all the strength from his body. He leaned against the drinks table and let it take all his weight, clasped his face in his hands, cried a little. As if only just feeling the shape and hue of the unspeakable thing he had just done. As if some great act of violence had just left his hands. Perhaps it had.
And before the double world champion, before the social media phenomenon, before the commercial giant, before the global icon, there was Luke Littler the darts obsessive. A kid steeped and stewed in the heritage of the game, fully aware of the landmarks he is now chasing, the tapestry of greatness into which he is now indelibly woven.
Perhaps in hindsight there was an element of wish fulfilment in the way we – the pundits, the public, the punters – had tried to will this final into a contest. Gian van Veen came into the game on the back of the greatest season of his life, as the only player on tour with a winning head-to-head record against Littler in 2025. But in dismantling the Dutchman 7-1 in a little over 40 minutes, the 18-year-old again demonstrated that over the longest format and under the highest pressure, he remains untouchable.
