Darts Tips: World Championship Final Saturday Predictions & Odds
Luke Littler eased through his semi-final against Ryan Searle to book his place in the World Championship final, where he will face Gian van Veen, the reigning European and World Youth champion.
Van Veen’s win over Gary Anderson stole the show on semi-finals night. The Dutchman backed up his eye-catching victory over Luke Humphries with another polished display, combining heavy scoring with clinicial finishing to dispatch a second former world champion.
He will still go into this final as the underdog, however, up against Littler, who remains extremely difficult to overcome across a long-format match.
Free Bets have three bets for this contest, which gets underway at 8:15pm on Saturday, 2nd January.
Darts Tips: World Championship Final
Littler is comfortable favourite with betting sites to lift the title for a second consecutive year, and here's three betting tips ahead of the final.
Tip 1: Gian van Veen Highest Checkout
Littler and Van Veen have both been excellent on the outer ring at Alexandra Palace, with each landing more than half of their attempts at doubles during the tournament.
It is the Dutchman, however, who has consistently produced the biggest checkouts. His 170 against Gary Anderson was his third of the event, adding to earlier highs of 132 against Charlie Manby and 125 versus Madars Razma.
Van Veen and Anderson shared the highest checkout of the semi-finals by both taking out the big fish, but Van Veen had topped that market in each of the previous four rounds.
Of course, nobody is more capable of the spectacular than Littler, but at odds of 6/4, Van Veen cannot be overlooked.
Tip 2: Luke Littler to Win, Over 9.5 Sets, Under 12.5 Sets
Van Veen has exceeded expectations at this tournament, not simply by reaching the final, but through the manner in which he has done so.
A tournament average of 102 is an excellent return, but it is the last two rounds where he has really stood out. He swept Humphries aside 5-1, before producing a performance of similar quality against Anderson, averaging just shy of 104 across the two outings.
He has answered every test put in front of him and, if anything, has improved as the pressure has increased. There is little reason to doubt he brings his A game to the final. He is odds-on to average over 101.5, and I would not be rushing to back the under.
That said, much of this becomes secondary when facing Littler. You have to get him beaten in a tournament while the format is shorter early on - otherwise he’s virtually unplayable.
Since 2010, 14 of the last 16 PDC World Darts Championship finals have finished 7-3, 7-4 or 7-5. That is the range this bet is targeting.
Tip 3: Luke Littler to Win 7-4
Historically, somewhere between 10 and 12 sets has proven to be the sweet spot for World Championship finals, and backing the midpoint of that range appeals here.
This has the potential to be a very even contest through the opening six to eight sets. In the semi-final, it was around the eighth set where both Van Veen and Anderson began to show signs of dropping off, and that may be all Littler needs. One lapse is enough for him to secure a break of throw and turn a tight match in his favour.
If Littler has the throw in the opening set, then a swing of just one set against the darts across the entire match would be sufficient. That alone could be the difference required for the reigning champion to successfully defend his PDC World Darts Championship title with a 7-4 scoreline.
Darts World Championship Schedule
Alongside our darts tips for the day, here's a look at the schedule for Saturday's final.
Saturday, 3 January
- Evening Session - 7:30pm Start
- Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen
