LUKE Littler and Michael van Gerwen will face off in a blockbusting World Championship final on Friday night.

They are the two biggest names in the sport, with Littler trying to win his first world title while Van Gerwen is chasing his fourth.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the players match up…

Head to head

Van Gerwen has spent a lot of 2024 telling his fellow players on the PDC Tour that there is no reason to be scared of Littler, despite his unprecedented success. And the pair have developed a great rivalry during the teenager’s first 12 months on the scene with their 12-match contest tied at 6-6.

There were some high-profile victories for Van Gerwen in there, notably the final of the Dutch Darts Masters and the opening round of the World Matchplay, but Littler won the semi-final in the World Series of Darts.

When the two have met in finals, however, Van Gerwen has the edge – since Littler beat him to win the Bahrain Darts Masters title, the Dutchman has won the past three trophy deciders between the two.

Luke Littler v Michael Van Gerwen previous meetings

Bahrain Darts Masters Final – Littler won 8-5

Dutch Darts Masters Final – Van Gerwen won 8-6

Premier League Night Two Final, Berlin – Van Gerwen won 6-5

Premier League Night Four Semi-Final, Newcastle – Van Gerwen won 6-5

Premier League Night Seven Quarter-Final, Nottingham – Littler won 6-2

Premier League Night Nine Semi-Final, Belfast – Littler won 6-3

Premier League Night 10 Quarter-Final, Manchester – Littler won 6-3

Premier League Night 11 Final, Birmingham – Van Gerwen won 6-3

Premier League Night 15 Semi-Final, Leeds – Van Gerwen won 6-1

World Matchplay First Round – Van Gerwen won 10-6

World Series of Darts Finals Semi-Final – Littler won 11-4

European Tour Championship – Littler won 6-1

Tournament stats

Luke Littler’s power scoring has helped him through to the final. The 64 180s he has thrown is a tournament high, while also boasting the highest three-dart average with 102.13.

Life might have been even more comfortable for him had he been clinical on the doubles, as he currently has a 41 per cent checkout rate, though he has taken out the ‘big fish’ 170.

Van Gerwen is second in the race for the Ballon d’Art, having thrown 43 maximums so far.

His average is slightly below Littler’s on 99.75 but he has a better checkout rate at 44 per cent.

In any other year, these numbers would make him the standout player in the tournament, but not now Littler is in town.