World Series of Darts: Luke Littler takes on Aussie Simon Whitlock to begin title defence

Benyam Kidane

World Series of Darts: Luke Littler takes on Aussie Simon Whitlock to begin title defence image

Luke Littler's quest for back-to-back World Series of Darts Finals titles gets underway this week in Amsterdam at AFAS Live from September 12-14.

The 18-year-old took home the crown 12 months ago, defeating Michael Smith 11-4 in the final to add another major trophy to his growing collection.

MORE: PDC ANZ Premier League Darts coming to Australia in 2025  

Littler begins his campaign against Australian fan-favourite Simon 'The Wizard' Whitlock and is the outright favourite to win it all in Amsterdam, according to bookmaker Sportsbet.

He comes into the Finals in Amsterdam in great form, having won the Australian Darts Masters and New Zealand Darts Masters last month. 

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Several former world champions will be in action in Amsterdam, including Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, and Peter Wright, who all have their sights set on the World Series of Darts Finals trophy.

For Whitlock, following the World Series of darts finals, the Aussie legend will be heading Down Under for the inaugural PDC ANZ Premier League Darts in Australia and New Zealand. 

2025 World Series of Darts Finals Draw

First Round

  • Stephen Bunting (1) vs Danny Noppert
  • Krzysztof Ratajski vs Josh Rock
  • Mike de Decker (8) vs Gabriel Clemens
  • Damon Heta vs Joe Cullen
  • Luke Humphries (4) vs James Wade
  • Kevin Doets vs Jermaine Wattimena
  • Rob Cross (5) vs Haupai Puha
  • Wessel Nijman vs Michael van Gerwen
  • Luke Littler (2) vs Simon Whitlock
  • Jonny Clayton vs Jason Brandon
  • Nathan Aspinall (7) vs Dave Chisnall
  • Jonny Tata vs Ross Smith
  • Gerwyn Price (3) vs Danny Lauby
  • Cor Dekker vs Raymond van Barneveld
  • Chris Dobey (6) vs Luke Woodhouse
  • Cameron Menzies vs Peter Wright

Second Round

  • SR1: Bunting/ Noppert vs Ratajski/Rock
  • SR2: de Decker/Clemens vs Heta/Cullen
  • SR3: Humphries/Wade vs Doets/Wattimena
  • SR4: Cross/Puha vs Nijman/van Gerwen
  • SR5: Littler/Whitlock vs Clayton/Brandon
  • SR6: Aspinall/Chisnall vs Tata/Smith
  • SR7: Price/Lauby vs Dekker/van Barneveld
  • SR8: Dobey/Woodhouse vs Menzies/Wright

Quarter-Final

  • QF1: SR1 vs SR2
  • QF 2: SR3 vs SR4
  • QF3: SR5 vs SR6
  • QF4: SR7 vs SR8

Semi-Final

  • SF1: QF1 winner vs QF2 winner
  • SF2: QF3 winner vs QF4 winner

Final

  • SF1 winner vs SF2 winner

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.