THE World Darts Championship final is now just around the corner – with Michael van Gerwen facing Luke Littler in a MASSIVE game at Ally Pally showpiece on Friday night.
Van Gerwen is hoping to end a SIX-year wait for a fourth world title while Littler is hoping to go one better than he did last year, when he was beaten in the final by Luke Humphries in his debut appearance.
As well as winning the top prize in darts, there is also the small matter of prize money to be settled – with the winner getting a £500,000 cheque and £200,000 going to the runner-up.
Van Gerwen was imperious in his semi-final win over Chris Dobey on Thursday night, rattling off a comfortable 6-1 in quick time.
The Dutchman was on the verge of tears and dropped the F-bomb as he spoke to Sky Sports after a thrilling win.
Teenage sensation Littler was excellent in his 6-1 win over Stephen Bunting as he capped off an incredible 12 months with a return to the biggest stage in the sport.
Twenty days after the tournament began, the match everyone has been waiting for is here.
The World Darts Championship final takes place on Friday, January 3.
The match between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler is set to begin at 8.30pm GMT.
Sky Sports will begin their coverage at 8pm.
SunSport will be LIVE blogging all the reaction from the semis plus all the build-up to the big match throughout the day.
Plus all the action from the big match itself, of course.
While the early rounds were the best of five sets, the final is a marathon.
The game will be played over the best of 13 sets – meaning the first player to win seven sits will take home the trophy and prize money.
The amount of legs needed to win has not changed throughout the tournament and remains at three for the final.
READ MORE on all the build-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza...
All the info:
News, features and interviews:
In short, yes.
Should Van Gerwen and Littler be level after 12 sets – at 6-6 – then the final would go to a tiebreaker.
Tiebreak rules mean that a player must win by two clear legs, so should players still be deadlocked at 2-2, then they will continue playing until one player gets two legs in front.
Should that not happen and players are still level at 5-5 the match then goes to sudden death – with one leg to win it all.
There is no coin toss or throw to determine who starts with the darts, whoever didn’t have the darts in the previous leg goes first in the sudden death leg.
The two darts stars have guaranteed themselves at least a £200,000 payout for reaching the final.
However, the top prize is worth more than double at £500,000.
There is also the nine-dart bonus on the table, with sponsor Paddy Power offering £60,000 to any player that hits the rapid checkout during the tournament.
So far Christian Kist – who TREBLED his annual prize money by hitting one – and Damon Heta have hit nine-darters in this tournament, but both players lost their matches.
Only one nine-darter has been hit in a final, with Michael Smith getting one on his way to a brilliant title in 2023.
The players aren’t the only people hoping for a nine-darter, though.
Paddy Power have also promised to give one lucky punter in the crowd a £60,000 cheque should a player hit a nine-darter.
The betting firm will also give £60,000 to charity partner Prostate Cancer UK.
