Sport

Luke Littler crushes Gerwyn Price to retain World Matchplay title in Blackpool

26 Jul 2026 3 minute read

Gerwyn Price in action Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Ian Parker, Press Association

Luke Littler bulldozed his way to a second consecutive Betfred World Matchplay title as he crushed Gerwyn Price 18-9 in Blackpool.

The 19-year-old averaged 111.53 in the final, setting an average for the tournament as a whole of 111.04 to break Phil Taylor’s record of 106.31.

Littler also broke his own competition record for 180s as he hit 12 in the final to reach 66 for the week.

Littler became only the third man to successfully defend the Matchplay final after Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, who did it most recently in 2016.

It keeps Littler on course for a clean sweep of trophies in 2026, having already won the World Championship, UK Open, Premier League and the Masters, while he will defend the Grand Slam, Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals.

Littler was on a charge from the start, taking a 3-1 lead with a 167 checkout to leave Price feeding on crumbs.

A third bullseye finish of the night made it 11-3, but he twice missed double 10 to allow Price a brief moment of hope, as the Welshman cut the deficit to 14-7.

Price hit a nine-darter to get to 15-9 but Littler responded with a 148 before finishing it off in short order.

“It’s been a crazy week, one of the best weeks of my life with the darts I’ve played,” Littler said. “It’s not been easy, it’s been tough.

“The stats make it look easy but when you’re on this stage with how hot it is, I’ve definitely played some of the best darts of my life.

“I feel like it’s the best version of myself. I have just played so well.”

Littler is eyeing a clean sweep of the majors, and will now turn his attention to the Pro Tour in order to qualify for the Player Championship Finals.

“I don’t think my dad is too happy because we were meant to be going to Spain but now we will be going to Leicester for some Pro Tours!” he said.

Blown away

Price, appearing in his first final since 2022 having never won the trophy, had said earlier in the week that if he brought his best to the final he could beat Littler, but it was not the case as, even averaging 104.97, the Welshman was blown away.

“Luke is one in a million,” Price said. “I think I played pretty decent.

“In that game I missed a couple of opportunities but the bull checkouts, the 167, it was a big turning point even though it was early in the game.

“I didn’t play brilliant, but I played decent.”

Support our Nation today

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.