Luke Littler makes World Matchplay history with record-breaking title defence

Luke Littler continued his remarkable rise in darts history as he successfully defended his World Matchplay title in stunning fashion, breaking records previously held by the legendary Phil Taylor along the way.

The 19-year-old defeated seventh seed Gerwyn Price 18-9 in the final at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool to become just the fourth player ever to win back-to-back World Matchplay crowns.

Littler’s dominant week saw him produce the highest tournament average in World Matchplay history, finishing the event with an incredible 111.04 average. That surpassed Taylor’s previous record of 106.31, set during his 2010 campaign.

The world number one saved his best performance for the final too, averaging 111.53 against Price to set a new record for a World Matchplay final, beating Taylor’s 111.23 average against Adrian Lewis in 2013.

His victory earned Littler £225,000 in prize money, taking his total earnings across the PDC Order of Merit over the last two years to £3,143,500, more than £2 million ahead of second-placed Luke Humphries.

Speaking after the final, Littler admitted the achievement was one of the highlights of his young career:

“It’s been a crazy week, one of the best weeks of my life with the darts I’ve played,” Littler said.

“It’s been tough. The stats may look like it’s easy, but when you’re on this stage with how hot it is, it’s not easy.”

Littler breaks Taylor’s World Matchplay records

The final was another display of Littler’s extraordinary scoring power as he raced into an early lead against Price.

A stunning 167 checkout in the fourth leg helped him secure an early break as he took the opening mini-session 4-1, before extending his advantage to 8-2.

At that stage, Littler was averaging 114.74 and was threatening Taylor’s record for the highest average in any World Matchplay match, which stood at 114.99.

Although his level dipped slightly during the following sessions, Littler remained in control, winning both periods 3-2 to move closer to another major title.

A brilliant 148 checkout, his sixth 100-plus finish of the final, put him within two legs of victory before a break of throw and a hold of his own sealed another historic triumph.

The teenager also produced 12 maximums in the final, taking his tournament total to a record-breaking 66, beating the mark he set during last year’s World Matchplay victory.

Another incredible record for Littler

The victory also extended Littler’s remarkable unbeaten run in longer-format matches.

The reigning world champion has now won 29 consecutive matches featuring 20 or more legs, with his last defeat coming in the 2024 World Championship final when he lost to Luke Humphries.

Price averaged an impressive 104.97 in defeat and enjoyed an excellent tournament despite falling short in the final. His run in Blackpool saw him climb to fourth in the PDC Order of Merit and reclaim the title of Welsh number one from Jonny Clayton.

The Welshman was full of praise for Littler after the match.

“Luke is one in a million, I threw everything at him,” Price said.

“He’s fantastic for the sport. I wish he wasn’t as good as he is – I would have won a couple more tournaments.

“I hope there’s no-one else like him coming through because he’s ridiculous!”

Littler chasing unprecedented PDC clean sweep

After securing another major title, Littler revealed his next ambition is to complete a clean sweep of all PDC ranking titles in the same calendar year, something that has never previously been achieved.

The teenager has already won the World Championship, World Masters, UK Open and World Matchplay in 2026, with the World Grand Prix, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals still to come.

However, the Players Championship Finals present the biggest challenge.

Littler has missed the first 24 Pro Tour events of the season and withdrew from the two events in Hildesheim, meaning he now has just eight remaining opportunities to qualify for the Minehead tournament.

With 64 players qualifying for the event, Littler knows he will likely need to compete in Pro Tour events and produce strong results to secure his place.

“I don’t think my dad’s too happy because we were going to go to Spain and I think we’ve got to go to Leicester now and play some Pro Tours, but it is what it is,” Littler said.

“I’ve been checking the Pro Tour rankings and whoever is in 64th just keeps going up and up and up. I know there are four in Leicester that I’ve got to go to now and we’ll see what happens.

“If I don’t qualify then I’m going to get grilled and if I do, I’ll get grilled anyway. Who knows what’s going to happen?”

Can Littler complete the darts clean sweep?

Event	Result
World Championship	Winner: Luke Littler
World Masters	Winner: Luke Littler
UK Open	Winner: Luke Littler
World Matchplay	Winner: Luke Littler
World Grand Prix	28 September – 4 October
European Championship	22-25 October
Grand Slam of Darts	14-22 November
Players Championship Finals	27-29 November

Littler has already rewritten the history books during his short time at the top of the sport, but his pursuit of a clean sweep could see him achieve something never done before in professional darts.