After a number of sensational (and sometimes surprising) matches, it all comes down to tonight (3 January).
Luke Littler is set to face Michael van Gerwen in the final of the World Darts Championship.
It marks the teen’s second consecutive year in the final after he was defeated by Luke Humphries in his debut fight for the title.
But despite that loss, the Nuke has already raked in a load of cash since becoming a household name at the Championship last year.
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And if he does win the world title tonight, he’ll make an absolutely incredible amount of money to top it off.
Littler secured his place in the final after beating Stephen Bunting by a 6-1 scoreline last night. And van Gerwen got there after beating Chris Dobey, also by 6-1 in sets, in his semi-final just before.
Both of them will face off to take the hefty £500,000 winner’s prize. But if they come in second place, they certainly won’t be leaving empty handed as the runner-up receives a cool £200,000.
Getting into the nitty gritty of how the darts world works, all prize money earned at the World Championship is added to a player’s ranking on the two-year Order of Merit system.
So, for example, Michael Smith came into this year’s tournament sitting as the number two player in the world. However, he ‘lost’ the prize money he was defending from bagging the title two years ago.
Smith would’ve previously automatically qualified for the majority of major tournaments, but thanks to a shock second round defeat to Kevin Doets, he’s now outside of the top 16 as 2025 kicks off.
PDC pro Matthew Edgar previously claimed players don’t actually get their full prize money when the World Championship comes to an end.
This is as the players receive remittance notices and deductions because they are technically self-employed contractors, and not directly employed by PDC.
Edgar added in a TikTok video: “Two per cent [of the prize money] is your PDC levy - that comes off everything before you even get it, and comes from playing on the Challenge Tour to being world champion.
“We all pay two per cent on our prize money before we even get it. Not only that, you’ve got to consider your membership fees. £500 is your membership, which goes before you even get it. That’s a once a year fee, and your DRA fee as well.
“I’ve got to deduct travel, my hotel and any other costs with that. Then, the money that is left is open to tax.”
The PDC World Championship final takes place at 7:30pm tonight.
Topics: Luke Littler, Money, Sport, News
Jess Battison