The conclusion of the 2025 World Darts Championship has all the makings of a classic. While Luke Littler is the overwhelming favourite to clinch his first world title, Michael van Gerwen remains a force to be reckoned with.

It therefore makes sense to side with over 10.5 sets during Friday night’s grand finale. This selection would require both players to claim at least 4 sets and that is certainly within the realms of possibility given how the pair have performed en route to the final.

While teenage sensation Littler has produced a string of heavy-scoring displays to reach back-to-back finals, he is not bulletproof. ‘The Nuke’ lost 3 sets when surviving a real scare against Ryan Joyce in round 4, and thereafter both Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting squandered opportunities to claim additional sets against the Warrington wonderkid.

3-time world champion van Gerwen will represent Littler’s toughest test to date and on current form the ‘Green Machine’ is unlikely to be as wasteful on the outer ring as the 17-year-old’s previous foes.

It’s also worth noting that each of the last 3 Ally Pally finals have featured 11+ sets, and everything points towards Friday night’s showpiece following suit.

With Friday night’s final expected to feature 11 or more sets, the Ally Pally crowd should be treated to a barrage of 180s. No player has hit more 180s than Littler (64) at this year’s extravaganza and the teenage trailblazer is worthy of support to land 27 or more maximums against ‘Mighty Mike’.

Littler produced 14 and 15 maximums during his respective victories over Joyce and Aspinall. Now up against one of the greatest players to ever toe the oche, there is plenty of scope for Littler to deliver at least 27 180s in what will be a gruelling and lengthy race to 7 sets.

Not only will ‘The Nuke’ have his sights firmly set on lifting the Sid Waddell trophy, he also has the added incentive of breaking the record for the most 180s scored in an individual World Darts Championship. Michael Smith tallied a remarkable 83 maximums on his way to the title 2 years ago but Littler could smash that record with 20+ maximums on Friday night.

Given that Littler fired in no fewer than 836 maximums across 2024, he is more than capable of covering the proposed 27+ 180s line during this showdown with van Gerwen.

If Luke Littler is to get the better of Michael van Gerwen on Friday night then he will almost certainly have to produce another high average. Thus, ‘The Nuke’ looks worth siding with to average in excess of 102.5 against the legendary Dutchman.

Littler delivered his highest average of this year’s tournament to date when brilliantly dismantling Stephen Bunting 6-1 at the semi-final stage. The teenage phenom generated an eye-watering average of 105.48 when breezing past ‘The Bullet’ on Thursday night. It’s also worth pointing out that Littler produced an average of over 102.5 when overcoming Ryan Joyce in round 4.

Given that van Gerwen averaged north of 103 against Callan Rydz and just shy of 102 against Jeffrey De Graaf earlier in the tournament, Littler will most likely have to replicate his aforementioned average efforts if he is to derail the ‘Green Machine’ in his quest for a 4th world crown.

Luke Humphries produced a 103.67 average to triumph in last year’s final and it could take something similar from Littler if he is to go one better this time around.