'I showed up Michael van Gerwen on Ally Pally stage – this is what Luke Littler must do'
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Luke Littler cannot afford to take a backward step when he faces Michael van Gerwen in the World Championship final. The pair regularly played each other in 2024, with their head-to-head stats dead level at six wins each. But tonight’s encounter on the legendary Alexandra Palace stage will be their biggest-ever meeting, and hopes are high that they will put on a match for ages.
Thanks to his fearsome on-stage presence and mannerisms, the Green Machine is renowned as one of the most intimidating players in darts. Over the years, some players have been beaten mentally before a dart has been thrown in anger. But in recent years, the three-time world champion has shown fallibility at Ally Pally, where he hasn’t lifted the trophy since 2019. Since then, he has lost to Peter Wright and Michael Smith in finals.
And last year, he was shockingly dumped out by outsider Scott Williams in the quarter-finals. A ragged Van Gerwen was beaten 5-3 in one of the tournament’s biggest-ever upsets. The Lincolnshire thrower, by his own admission, is a showman on stage and was determined to show MVG that he wouldn’t be intimidated.
Speaking to the Mirror before the tournament, Williams, nicknamed Shaggy, said: “I felt confident as soon as I walked into Ally Pally. I’d not really seen what he’d been doing, who he’d been playing, I didn’t really care. “It’s one of Michael’s things [intimidating opponents], he’s very good at it. He’s doesn’t take the p*** or anything like that. He’s professional but he wants to let you know that he’s there, with his aura, that he is the main man.
