Revealed: How unrecognisable Michael van Gerwen, 35, looked ...

Teen sensation Luke Littler has reached sporting heights at the age of 17 that few achieve in their entire career.

But his opponent in tonight's World Darts Championship final, Michael van Gerwen, was also a hotshot at the same age, even if a recently-circulated photo has reminded fans that he looked completely unrecognisable as a young gun.

Littler and his Dutch adversary face off in a clash of the titans tonight after three weeks of exhilirating action on the oche at Alexandra Palace in north London.

'The Nuke' won the Premier League in a breakthrough 2024 and has continued his form at the World Championships, averaging a record-breaking 140.91 in the final set against Ryan Meikle, before sweeping aside Ian White, Ryan Joyce, Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting.

'Mighty' van Gerwen had a rare trophy-less year in 2024 but has been putting that right at Ally Pally with a flawless run, culminating in a dominant 6-1 win in the semi-final against in-form Chris Dobey.

Things have changed in the 18 years since the Dutchman was Littler's age, not least the loss of his spiky, blonde locks.

Michael van Gerwen looked a little bit different when he was a young gun in 2007

MVG boasted spiky blonde hair in those days - seven years before his first world title

Van Gerwen meets Littler in tonight's World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace

A remarkable picture has now emerged of a 17-year-old MVG dating back to his appearance at the International Darts League in Nijmegen and fans have reacted in shock.

He made quite a stir at the BDO event, beating three-time BDO champion Martin 'Wolfie' Adams.

But it is his heavily-gelled blonde hair which has caught the eye of modern viewers, a heavy contrast to van Gerwen's current bald head.

His iconic green shirt has remained the same, however, and his darts have only got better in the years since.

Van Gerwen went on to win the 2012 Grand Prix aged just 23 before becoming the youngest player to lift the World Darts Championship in 2014 at the age of 24.

He has since added to his tally with triumphs in 2017 and 2019 and Friday's final will be his seventh in the prestigious event. 

Van Gerwen has downplayed the difficulty of Littler's road to his second consecutive world final with an X-rated rant against the level of his opponents.

'The last matches he played okay, but that's also easy talking,' Van Gerwen began. Of course, that [quarter-final against Nathan Aspinall] was his best match because he had absolutely no opposition.

van Gerwen has played down the difficulty of Littler's route to the world darts final

Littler is confident of winning the lot this year after thrashing Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semis

MVG claimed his son 'would have beat' Littler's quarter-final opponent Nathan Aspinall

'Aspinall... I think my little son would have beat him, he didn't throw s***.'

The Van Gerwen and Littler rivalry may have only begun in early 2024, but watching the pair collide in top competition has become box office stuff over the course of the last 12 months.

The pair have met on 12 occasions since their first match at the Bahrain Masters in January, with both coming out on top six times each.

Littler has had the better of their recent clashes, beating the Dutchman in the World Series of Darts semi-finals and at the European Tour.

However, when asked about who is the favourite heading into their biggest battle yet, Van Gerwen confidently dismissed Littler's chances of being crowned champion.

'Who do you think yourself? Don't ask those silly questions, right? Of course, I'm the favourite,' said Van Gerwen

'Purely in terms of quality, what I've shown in recent years. And not only that, also the past matches.'