Luke Littler defended his World Matchplay title in sensational style at Blackpool on 18 July 2026, beating seventh seed Gerwyn Price 18-9 to become just the third player to win back-to-back Matchplay titles. The 19-year-old also broke Phil Taylor’s tournament average record and final average record in a dominant victory that underlined his status as world number one.
Littler finished the week with a tournament average of 111.04, beating Taylor’s previous record of 106.31 set in 2010. He averaged 111.53 in the final, surpassing Taylor’s 111.23 against Adrian Lewis in 2013 and setting a new benchmark for the championship match.
He collected £225,000 in prize money for winning the event and now has £3,143,500 on the PDC’s two-year order of merit, a lead of £2.13m over second-placed Luke Humphries.
“It's been a crazy week, one of the best weeks of my life with the darts I've played,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“It's been tough, the stats may look like it's easy but when you're on this stage with how hit it is, it's not easy.”
Price also produced a strong display, averaging 104.97 in the final. His run to the final lifted him to fourth in the order of merit and restored his position as Welsh number one ahead of Jonny Clayton.
Littler began the final as the overwhelming favourite and quickly seized control with a spectacular 167 finish in the fourth leg to break throw and take the first mini-session 4-1. He continued that momentum to move 8-2 ahead, averaging 114.74 at one stage, with Taylor’s record of 114.99 for any Matchplay game in sight.
His scoring level dipped slightly in the next two sessions, but he still won both 3-2 to move ever closer to victory. He then moved to within one leg with a brilliant 148 checkout, his sixth ton-plus finish of the final, before holding throw to secure his fourth ranking title of the calendar year.
The back-to-back world champion also hit 12 180s in the final, taking his tournament total to a new record of 66 and surpassing the mark he set last year.
“Luke is one in a million, I threw everything at him,” Price told Sky Sports.
“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 to attempt calendar clean sweep
Speaking after the final, Littler reiterated that his aim now is to complete a clean sweep of the PDC ranking titles in the calendar year, a feat never achieved before. The Players Championship Finals in November remain the obstacle, and qualifying for Minehead would likely require him to play, and potentially win, some Pro Tour events.
Littler has skipped the first 24 Pro Tour events and has already pulled out of the two in Hildesheim this week. That leaves just eight remaining for him to feature in Minehead, where 64 players qualify and the current final qualifier has £22,750 in prize money.
A Pro Tour win is worth £15,000 and the runner-up earns £10,000, so Littler still has work to do if he wants to make the field.
“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 added on Sky Sports.
“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?”
Former BDO world champion Mark Webster said he “half expects” the teenager to achieve the clean sweep.
“Who is going to stop Luke Littler?” he added.
“You could argue the first round of the Grand Prix because of the short format (best of three sets), but Gian van Veen threw everything at him last year and he had all the answers.
“At the minute his game just holds up in any format and scenario. He wants to break records. You definitely wouldn't rule it out.”
Key Facts
- Littler beat Gerwyn Price 18-9 in the World Matchplay final in Blackpool on 18 July 2026.
- He became the third back-to-back Matchplay winner after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
- His tournament average was 111.04, breaking Taylor’s 106.31 record from 2010.
- He averaged 111.53 in the final, beating Taylor’s 111.23 set in 2013.
- Littler won £225,000 and now leads the PDC order of merit by £2.13m over Luke Humphries.
