Luke Littler is one night from world domination and a cheque for £500,000 as he reduces Stephen Bunting to darting rubble to set up a final for the ages, writes KIERAN GILL

Van Gerwen’s one and only slip in his 6-1 win arrived in his televised interview with Sky Sports on stage afterwards, when the three-time champion dropped the F-bomb as he said: ‘I’ve won f*** all yet.’ 

Littler reduced No 8 seed Bunting to darting rubble on another mesmeric night at Alexandra Palace

It was an illusion, as fake as the excuses that will be made by the Ally Pally patrons who phone in sick to work this morning. Van Gerwen started this match with a 180 and never looked back. 

Named after the late commentator, we can only imagine how Waddell would have described Littler today, but it is worth leaning on his iconic line from Eric Bristow’s crowning in 1984. 

Comparing this year’s run to the last, Littler said: ‘I’ve played better. I’ve won plenty of titles leading up to this. I can’t wait. If we both turn up like we did tonight, it’s going to be really good.’ 

He would be the youngest champion in history and it is fitting that Van Gerwen is the current record holder in the PDC era. He was 24 when he won the first of his three titles in 2014, and ‘Mighty Mike’ likewise won 6-1 in his own semi-final with Chris Dobey last night.

The pre-tournament favourite will take on Dutch maestro Michael van Gerwen on Friday night

Dobey never turned up, in truth. His name was on the scoreboard, sure, and the £100,000 cheque from the PDC will make it look like he was in a contest. But really, he wasn’t.

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Otherwise, this was effective, efficient, and oh-so straightforward for MvG.

It was with a bullseye finish that Littler made it 5-1, and with a 170-finish that he helped himself towards victory, securing his spot in the final for the second successive year.

The second set was scrappier, only one maximum being struck as neither man averaged a ton-plus, but Littler extended his lead to 2-0. At 4-0, Littler was in total charge, though Bunting at least avoided the indignity of a whitewash as he reduced it to 4-1.

‘When Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer,’ said the wordsmith. ‘Bristow’s only 27.’ As if anyone requires reminding, Littler is 17.

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