Keith Deller knows a thing or two about navigating through a tough field at the World Darts Championship and the 1983 World Champion has picked his final for 2025.
Deller beat Eric Bristow, John Lowe, and Jocky Wilson – the three top seeds at the time – to win the biggest tournament in darts as a qualifier at the BDO World Darts Championship.
The Ipswich thrower became the youngest-ever World Darts Champion in history at the age of 24, a record that lasted 23 years until Jelle Klaasen won at Lakeside in 2006.
The 64-year-old, now working as a spotter for Sky Sports, has revealed who he believes will be in the final of the 2025 tournament.
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Keith Deller opts for Luke Humphries vs Gary Anderson final
Last year’s final of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler cannot take place with both men on the same side of the draw.
Cool Hand and The Nuke will meet in the semi-final, should they both get to the final four, which has stirred debate for the other finalist of this year’s event.
Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, and in-form qualifier Wessel Nijman will all fancy their chances of making it to the final two at Alexandra Palace.
Speaking exclusively to The Darts Insider ahead of the new Sky documentary ‘Darts Kings’, Deller opted for Anderson to take up a spot in the bottom half of the final.
Deller reasoned: “The 100 averages he’s hitting all year, on a consistent basis. He did play well at the Grand Slam.
“If he beat Littler in that last leg he probably would’ve beat Lukeman in the final. He was very close not to winning one of the big ones that has gone by.”
As for Humphries or Littler, Deller believes the World No. 1 will once again get the best of The Nuke on the Ally Pally stage.
Deller said: “Personally I believe there’s still a lot of pressure on Luke Littler when he plays Humphries.
“Humphries has the title and Luke wants it. I’ve gone for Humphries to win and Anderson in the final.”
Littler plays Ryan Meikle in the second round on Saturday, December 21 while Humphries has already secured his World Darts Championship until after Christmas.
Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries’ head-to-head
Despite their disparity in the PDC World Rankings, Anderson and Humphries’s head-to-head record in their last 12 outings makes for very interesting reading.
Both men share six victories apiece in meetings that date back to 2018, including an epic 16-14 Humphries victory in the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts and a 5-2 win by Anderson in the 2022 World Cup.
Should the pair meet in the final as Deller suggests, it could be one of the most competitive finals in recent World Darts Championship history.
Anderson gets his campaign up-and-running against Jeffrey De Graaf in the afternoon session on Sunday, December 22.
Watch Dart Kings from 4th Jan on Sky Documentaries and NOW