Gian van Veen overcomes Gary Anderson in thriller to set up Luke Littler World Championship final

Gian van Veen has set up a PDC World Championship final against Luke Littler after recording a 6-3 win over Gary Anderson.

The Dutchman's 5-1 victory over Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals ensured that he succeeded Michael van Gerwen as Dutch number one.

However, the new world number three produced another magical performance on Friday night to reach his first World final, averaging 102.99 and posting a 55% checkout ratio to defeat two-time world champion Anderson.

Van Veen soon found himself a set down, yet in sets two, four and five, he would average 113.35, 109.74 and 111.46 to help him into a 4-1 lead.

Both players hit 170 finishes in a memorable fifth, before Anderson hit an incredible seven maximums across sets six and seven to reduce the deficit to 4-3.

Although the following two sets each went to a deciding leg, Van Veen came through both to book his spot in Saturday's final.

VAN VEEN WINS AN EPIC! ?

Gian van Veen is a World Championship finalist!

The Dutchman produces another astonishing display to defeat Gary Anderson 6-3 in a contest LITTERED with quality!

? https://t.co/59TualjgND#WCDarts | SF pic.twitter.com/2QGuihxbW7

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 2, 2026

Littler overcomes slow start to beat Searle

Meanwhile, defending champion Luke Littler overcame a slow start to defeat Ryan Searle by a 6-1 scoreline.

Littler dropped the opening set, despite averaging in excess of 105, and watched Searle miss the bull for a 69 checkout to take the third.

Once that went abegging, the 18-year-old dominated, dropping just two more legs - one of them to a Searle 170 - as he coasted into the final.

In comparison to Van Veen's 102.99, Littler averaged 105.35 and recorded a 58.82% checkout rate, subsequently outclassing Searle who can only take positives from reaching the last four.

While Littler has effectively guaranteed the number one position in the PDC Order of Merit for at least the next 10 months, Van Veen can become the new world number two if he wins tomorrow's showpiece.