Luke Littler Has Genius Trick Which ‘Makes It Easier’ to Get a 180
Luke Littler will face Gian van Veen in the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship final.
Reigning darts world champion Luke Littler has explained why it is easier for him to get a famous 180 finish compared to some of his rivals.
Ever since he first emerge as one of the top talents in all of darts at just 16 years old, Littler has established himself as the biggest name in the sport.
The teenager from Warrington powered to the final of the 2024 PDC PDC World Darts Championship, losing to Luke Humphries, but returned a year later to beat Michael van Gerwen and win the competition.
For the third year in a row, Littler will be hoping to win the biggest trophy in the sport, taking on Dutch player Gian van Veen in an exciting final in London's iconic Alexandra Palace on Saturday night.
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During the match, the Englishman will look to make use of a clever trick he revealed ahead of last year's final that will help him get more 180 finishes than his rival.
In the 2024 final, Littler beat three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen 7–3 in sets, becoming the youngest world champion in darts history.
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Ahead of the match, the darts star explained why his fellow players tend to find it harder to hit a 180 than he does.
Speaking in a video posted on TikTok in December 2024, Littler said: "I have a longer point because when my darts sit in the board.
"There's more room of getting a 180 or a 140, whereas if you've got small points they'll go through the board and then it's harder to get a 180."
During his semi-final on Friday night, Littler managed to hit 10 180s as he comfortably beat Ryan Searle 6-1 to reach the final.
Speaking after the match, Littler said: "I went 1-0 down and was not the happiest. I thought I didn't play that well. Everyone knows I just want to go 1-0 up, get into that lead.
"I said to myself 'you will find it' and it went 1-1, 2-1, 3-1 and so on. Big shout out to Ryan. He's done amazing this tournament. He can be proud."
Evaluating his performance on SKy Sports, pundit Wayne Mardle said: "It was a bit typical of what he does!
"I know it's ridiculous but Littler went for nine-darters rather than trying to win legs! Over that format, it was a good performance - hard to beat.
"You expect him to play like that tomorrow, or maybe even better. He doesn't fold and he wants back-to-back titles. He wants to rewrite his own history and this is part of it."
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler, World Darts Championship
Ben McCrum