Luke Littler will attempt to become the youngest winner of the World Darts Championship when he faces Michael van Gerwen in the final at Alexandra Palace.
The 17-year-old has reached consecutive finals in the tournament and will look to go one step further than last year, when he suffered an agonizing defeat to Luke Humphries.
If Littler triumphs on Friday night, he will break Van Gerwen's record, as the Dutchman became the youngest champion at 24 years old in 2014.
Van Gerwen will seek to win the fourth world title of his career, having previously won it in 2014, 2017 and 2019.
With the head-to-head level at six wins each heading into the Ally Pally showdown, Mail Sport takes a look at how the players stack up against each other as they try to claim the £500,000.
Luke Littler, right, will try to beat Michael van Gerwen's record as youngest champion.
Van Gerwen will face young rival Littler in the final at Alexandra Palace on Friday night.
Route to the final
Having made an impressive debut as a 16-year-old last year, and his run to the finals captured the nation's attention, Littler came into this year's event with the weight of expectations on his shoulders.
'The Nuke' has proven up to the task of supporting his sensational career, but has faced some challenges along the way.
Littler opened his tournament with a 3-1 victory over Ryan Meikle in the second round, before the fourth seed beat Ian White in a best-of-seven-set contest.
His toughest task to date came in the fourth round against Ryan Joyce, with a high-quality match that required a deciding set.
Littler ultimately sealed a 4-3 victory over Joyce, finishing the match with an average of 103.14 to advance to the quarterfinals.
He then swept Nathan Aspinall 5-2 in the quarter-finals, before demolishing Ally Pally favorite Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semi-finals.
His average of 105.48 in the win over Bunting was the second-highest in this year's tournament, with Littler making it clear he is ready to claim the world title.
Van Gerwen overcame James Hurrell and Brendan Dolan in his first matches of the tournament, before holding off a comeback from Swede Jeffrey de Graaf to win 4-2 and reach the quarter-finals.
The three-time champion took part in what could be considered the World Championship match when he beat Callan Rydz 5-3 in the quarterfinals. Van Gerwen won the contest even though Rydz won more stages, had a higher average, plus 180, and was on the verge of exits.
He sealed his place in the seventh World Championship final of his career by beating Chris Dobey 6-1 on Thursday.
Littler defeated Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semifinals to reach the Ally Pally final.
Van Gerwen improved as the tournament progressed and won a thriller against Callan Rydz.
Score
Most statistics from this year's tournament would point to Littler emerging as the winner in the World Championship final.
The Nuke has a better tournament average than Van Gerwen with 102.13 compared to Mighty Mike's 99.75.
Littler's highest average in the tournament was 105.48, which he achieved in his Bunting demolition semi-final.
Van Gerwen's highest score came in the quarterfinals, with 103.10 helping him edge out Rydz.
Littler recorded a 64 180 during his run to the final, significantly more than Van Gerwen's 43.
One area where Van Gerwen has had the advantage in this tournament is his payout percentage of 43.90 percent, while Littler is far behind at 41.05 percent.
The stats also highlight Littler's improvement over the past 12 months.
His average of 102.13 surpasses the 101.82 he recorded last year en route to the final, while he has a 64.180 compared to the 50 in his debut.
Littler recorded his highest average of the tournament in his semi-final victory over Bunting.
Littler has pulled off many more 180s than Van Gerwen on his way to the final
personal life
It's fair to say Littler's life has changed dramatically in the last 12 months after his World Championship run catapulted him to stardom.
His relationship with Eloise Milburn, 21, had attracted attention at Alexandra Palace last year, and the couple became the center of public attention.
Littler and Milburn have since split, with the darts star posting a message to his followers asking them to stop giving his ex grief.
The teenager and his family had previously lived in a £180,000 two-bedroom terraced house in Cheshire, but have since moved into a five-bedroom mansion with an indoor pool.
Littler has become a familiar face to many having signed endorsement deals with BoohooMan and KP Nuts, while he was used in England's Euro 2024 squad advert and finished runner-up in Sports Personality of the Year last month.
In this whirlwind year, the Manchester United fan also met Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, was driven around Silverstone by Lando Norris and appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show alongside artist Raye and actress Millie Bobby Brown.
Littler has become a familiar face after a whirlwind 12 months for the teen sensation.
Littler was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year and came second in the top prize
Littler was also included in the list of Europe's 30 under 30 for 2024 by Forbes magazine
The Manchester United fan took a tour of Old Trafford last year amid his success.
Despite the changes, Littler is still known for playing on his Xbox and being on Snapchat minutes before going on stage.
Van Gerwen, 35, has established himself as one of the best players in the history of darts, with the Dutchman three titles at Alexandra Palace, only surpassed by the legendary Phil Taylor.
He was born in Boxtel in the Netherlands and now resides in Vlijmen. Van Gerwen initially played football until the age of 12, before taking up darts.
Before turning professional, Van Gerwen also worked as a tiler to help support his career.
Van Gerwen married his long-time girlfriend, Daphne Govers, in 2014, and the couple shared a daughter, Zoe, and a son, Mike, who were born in 2017 and 2020.
Van Gerwen married Daphne Govers in 2014 and the couple has two children together.
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen is a fan of Dutch football giant PSV Eindhoven.
Shape
Littler has enjoyed an impressive year in which he has claimed some of darts' biggest titles.
The 17-year-old triumphed on his Premier League Darts debut by taking revenge on Luke Humphries for his defeat in the World Championship final.
Littler has also claimed World Series of Darts and Grand Slam of Darts titles, along with wins at the PDC World Series in Bahrain and Poland.
Unsurprisingly, his world ranking has skyrocketed in the last 12 months, entering last year's World Championships ranked 164th in the world, but has now risen to fourth.
His career earnings have surpassed £1 million following his success, having won 10 titles in total as of 2024.
Van Gerwen, on the other hand, came into the World Championships with doubts about his form and 2024 marked the first time he had not won a televised tournament since 2011.
He was defeated in the final of The Masters by Bunting and in the World Matchplay by Humphries.
Van Gerwen also reached the finals of the Bahrain and Dutch Masters, winning one and losing another to none other than Littler.
However, his overall career success is beyond doubt as he won 47 PDC titles, including three World Championships. Van Gerwen's career earnings have reportedly exceeded £11.5 million.
Littler claimed 10 titles in 2024 and his world ranking skyrocketed to four
Van Gerwen aims to win the World Championship title for the first time since 2019
Who wins?
It seems difficult to pick a winner with Littler and Van Gerwen currently tied in their head-to-head matchups.
Littler won the first match in Bahrain last year, and the result backed up his performances at the World Championships.
Van Gerwen responded by winning his next three encounters with Littler, before the teenager did the same in response.
The remarkable sequence continued with Van Gerwen winning the next three matches, while Littler triumphed in his final two matches.
Tournament statistics suggest the sequence could continue, resulting in Littler claiming his first world title and breaking Van Gerwen's record as the youngest winner.