"He's Runcorn's number two, I'm number one!" - Ian White brings fighting talk ahead of Luke Littler tie at World Darts Championship

For the first time in three years, Ian White has reached the third round at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, ensuring a post-Christmas return to the Alexandra Palace. After securing a 3-1 victory over European champion Ritchie Edhouse, the Premier League champion Luke Littler now awaits for the 'Diamond' in the third round. 

In what was far from an Ally Pally classic, neither White or Edhouse hit the heights on Sunday afternoon. Despite going 1-0 down though, it was eventually former World Darts Championship quarter-finalist White who prevailed, thanks in part to his lethal hitting of double top.

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"I don't think it was the best performance between the two of us but it's been a long wait since it started," White assesses in conversation with the assembled darts media afterwards, noting how his first round tie and Sandro Eric Sosing was called off at the last minute as his opponent fell ill. "Ritchie struggled up there but yeah, I'll take the win. It doesn't matter what you average, just winning is most important."

As mentioned, the main difference between White and Edhouse, was the former's lethality on the finishing and in particular, double top. "Tops are going well, it was getting down to tops that was the hard bit!" the 54-year-old explains with a smile. "But yeah, the finishing was good and that's what got me over the line I think."

White in action at the Ally Pally

A few months ago, White's Tour Card looked in doubt. After a positive performance at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead, notably knocking out Michael van Gerwen and now this run to the third round at the Alexandra Palace, 'Diamond' is up to a provisional 49th in the post-World Darts Championship Order of Merit. "I'm playing well you know, I'm enjoying it and I think that's the most important thing now is to enjoy the darts," he says. "We've got these stars coming through now so it's just a case just getting on with it."

In the third round, White now faces off against the brightest of the rising stars, Luke Littler, who averaged a record 140+ in the final set of his victory over Ryan Meikle earlier this tournament. "Listen, the lad's talented, we all know that. He's put darts on the map again. Everyone wants to come to darts and that's the best thing that's ever happened to us. But, I just want to say you know, he's from Runcorn the same as me, so he's number two, I'm number one!"

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