is one of the household names on the scene as he takes on in the final, but not too long ago he was a fresh-faced teen at the oche himself.

, 11 years on from his first Alexandra Palace victory, and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

It was only 18 years ago 'MVG' made his debut on the professional scene, a handful of years after he first picked up darts at the age of 13, with supporters surprised at his change in look over the years.

Van Gerwen first stepped on the stage in 2007, the same year Littler was born, to take on Christopher McTernan at the UK Open in Van Gerwen's first-ever televised PDC match.

McTernan was one of the 32 Punch Taverns pub qualifiers to join the professional stars in Bolton as he eyed an upset against the third-favourite, but ultimately lost against the teenage sensation.

Van Gerwen went out on the third day to Colin Osborne, with ultimately winning the event, but footage of the fresh-faced Dutchman, with spiky hair, has since gone viral on social media and got fans talking.

Reacting to the video on TikTok, Ste Johnson wrote: "Jesus he looks like a different person hahaha."

Patrick Smith similarly added: "Looks about 14", which was echoed by Yeahboi. Who wrote: "Hahahahahaha look at him dam (sic) my guy changed."

Many joked that the youngster "was going to go far" in the darts world and there was also plenty of debate about how Van Gerwen's throwing action had changed dramatically over the years.

Dave_JM was one of several to comment on him at the oche, writing: "Do you see how he changed his throw from 18 years old to 3x world champion to nowadays?"

Van Gerwen had already played in British Darts Organisation events and won the World Masters in 2006 before making the switch to PDC with several other Dutch stars such as Jelle Klaasen and Vincent van der Voort.

He entered the PDC at world No. 88 but quickly rose up the rankings, taking the Players Championship in his opening year on the tour.

It wasn't the immediate impact that Littler had on his first 12 months as a pro, with Van Gerwen picking up his first major title six years later with the World Grand Prix.

The World Championship followed two years later, before adding to his tally in 2017 and 2019, with the stalwart aiming for a fourth against the teenage superstar.