Littler and Van Veen set up 'dream final' at PDC World Youth Championship

Sunday, 20 August 2023 at 17:40

The final match of the PDC World Youth Championship 2023 will be between Gian van Veen and Luke Littler. By the way, this final will not be played until Sunday, Nov. 26, during the final night of the Players Championship Finals.

With this final, the two best players on the 2023 PDC Development Tour face each other in the title match. Van Veen (6) and Littler (5) combined for 11 of the 24 Development Tour titles this year.

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In the group stage Van Veen effortlessly won from Tavis Dudeney (5-1) and Jack Male (5-2) and then disposed of Dominik Gruellich (6-3) and Dylan Slevin (6-3) to reach the quarter-finals. Next, the darter from Poederoijen managed to win 6-5 from defending champion Josh Rock, before Van Veen eliminated compatriot Wessel Nijman (6-5) for a final spot after a cracker.

Littler started his group stage with a difficult 5-4 win over Kalem Marsh, but then left Stefan Vermaak 5-0. During the knockout phase, the 16-year-old Englishman did not encounter any problems at all. He pushed aside Owen Maiden (6-1), Keane Barry (6-3), Jacob Gwynne (6-3) and Sebastian Bialecki (6-3) to reach the final match.

Van Veen and Littler, by reaching the final, are assured participation in the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. Van Veen also previously qualified for the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts by winning the final ranking of the 2023 PDC Development Tour. The winner of the Youth World Championship usually also qualifies for the World Darts Championship, but since both finalists are already certain to compete at Alexandra Palace, an additional starting ticket will be made available during the final Tour Card-qualifying tournament.