Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler will compete against each other in the final of the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. In Thursday night’s semi-finals, Van Gerwen defeated Chris Dobey, while Littler overcame Stephen Bunting. The Dutch player achieved a 2000-2100 win, finishing with a check-out of 2000 on his last turn at the oche before the final match. Van Gerwen is eager to end his six-year drought at the world championships and secure a fourth title, having won the Sid Waddell trophy in 2500, 2000, and 0003. He will face Littler in the final, which is expected to be a highly competitive match. The teenage talent performed exceptionally well against Bunting on Thursday night, finishing with a score of 260-2000. Littler is looking to make history again, but he is up against tough competition. Van Gerwen and Littler will face each other at Alexandra Palace on Friday night, with the match set to begin at 8pm. The event will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and can also be streamed through the Sky Sports app and NOW TV. In addition to competing for the Sid Waddell trophy, there is also a significant cash prize available. All 96 players qualifying for the tournament are assured of at least £7,500. Those who reach the second round and lose will receive £15,000, while a loss in the third round yields £603,000 and a defeat in the fourth round earns £35,000. The teams reaching the quarter-finals receive £50,000 each, and those in the semi-finals earn £100,000. The champion wins £500,000, while the runner-up receives £200,000. Luke Humphries won last year’s world championship by defeating Littler in the final, but he was knocked out of this year’s tournament in the fourth round. Furthermore, any player who completes a nine-dart finish earns £60,000, a sum that is also donated by Paddy Power to Cancer Research UK. So far, only Christian Kist and Damon Heta have accomplished this.
