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The main event
That Michael van Gerwen will not be in the spotlight on Saturday night at the World Cup says a lot about the new order of darts.
Instead, Luke Littler will be the main star at Alexandra Palace when he takes on Ian White in their third round encounter.
It’s been an incredible 12 months for the 17-year-old who was halfway to the finals this time last year, and despite his tender years has become one of the biggest names in the sport.
However, Littler showed a rarely seen vulnerability in his opening match against Ryan Meikle last Saturday. He was completely out of sorts in the first three sets before flipping the switch and scoring an incredible average of 140.91 in the fourth – the highest single set average in the history of the tournament.
LITTLER WINS WITH RECORD BREAKING 🤯
Scorer from eleven, scorer from ten and eleven darts from Luke Littler as he averages 140.91 in the final set to win over Ryan Meikle.
Simply hilarious from this special talent 🙌
He entered the third round! pic.twitter.com/0j9CQGYHKU
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 21, 2024
But he was unable to finish his interview on stage, burst into tears and admitted that he was suffering from nerves.
That could be a factor again tomorrow, although he could be helped by the fact he’s playing a familiar face with White also hailing from Littler’s home town of Runcorn.
White, who defeated Ritchie Edhouse in the second round, competed against Littler’s grandfather in the North West League.
The 54-year-old said: “When I first started playing darts, I played against his grandfather, Phil, in Runcorn.
“I kept beating him. He played for Albion. Local teams. We played against him many times. We had a joke.
“I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait.”
Van Gerwen is not the force he once was and will face a tough test against Irish veteran Brendan Dolan in the second match of the evening session.
The Dutchman convincingly beat James Burrell 3-0 in the first match and showed flashes of brilliance that have taken him to three world titles.
“I think I’ve been good in some parts, but the tank is still full,” he said.
“I think I’ve done enough and that’s all that matters, especially knowing I haven’t had the best 12 months of my career.
“I love performing on stages like this. It gives me a lot of energy, and the atmosphere definitely gave me goosebumps.”
Order of play – all third round matches
Afternoon session (from 12.30pm UK time)
Ryan Joyce vs. Ryan Searle
Scott Williams in Ricardo Pietreczko
Nathan Aspinall v Andrew Gilding
Evening session (from 19:00 UK time)
Chris Dobey vs. Josh Rock
Michael van Gerwen vs. Brendan Dolan
Luke Littler vs. Ian White
How to watch
The PDC World Championship is shown on Sky Sports in the UK.
You can watch the afternoon session on Sky Sports Darts and the Main Event from 12:30 GMT. The evening slot is on Sky Sports Darts and Main Event from 1900.
Predictions
The fascination with Littler is not so much whether he wins, but how he behaves. He will have too much firepower for White, but his surprise burst of nerves against Meikle would be an eye-opener for his rivals.
If he can show the composure he’s used to, normal service will resume and his campaign will be back on track. If not, then there will be more doubts about his chances this year.
Van Gerwen might find it difficult against world number 30 Dolan, but he should have enough to get over the line.
The evening session opens with an interesting clash between Dobey and Rock. Dobey is the betting favorite for the match, but we think Rock will cause a minor upset.
In the afternoon slot, all three games should be tight.
But let’s go for wins for Searle, Williams and Gilding.
