Luke Littler retained his World Matchplay title with an 18-9 victory over Gerwyn Price in Blackpool, breaking two Phil Taylor records during a dominant final, BBC News reported.
The 19-year-old world number one became only the fourth player, after Rod Harrington, Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, to win the tournament in consecutive years.
Littler finished the week with a tournament average of 111.04, beating Taylor’s 106.31 mark from 2010. His final average of 111.53 also surpassed Taylor’s 111.23 against Adrian Lewis in the 2013 final.
The win earned Littler £225,000 and moved his PDC two-year order of merit total to £3,143,500, which is £2.13m ahead of 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 hot it is, it’s not easy.”
Price averaged 104.97 in the final and ended the week fourth in the order of merit, also reclaiming the Welsh number one position from Jonny Clayton.
Littler made an early move with a 167 finish in the fourth leg and led 4-1 after the opening mini-session. He extended that advantage to 8-2 while averaging 114.74, before maintaining control through the next two sessions.
A 148 checkout took him to within two legs of victory, and he completed the win with a break and hold. He also hit 12 180s in the final, taking his tournament total to 66 and setting a new record.
The result extended Littler’s winning run in matches of 20 or more legs to 29. His last defeat over that distance came against Humphries in the 2024 World Championship final.
Price praised Littler after the match, telling Sky Sports: “Luke is one in a million, I threw everything at him. He’s fantastic for the sport.”
Littler also said he would now look to complete a clean sweep of PDC ranking titles in the calendar year, something which has not previously been achieved. The Players Championship Finals in November remain a challenge, with qualification likely to require him to play in Pro Tour events.
According to BBC News, Littler has skipped the first 24 Pro Tour events and has withdrawn from two in Hildesheim, leaving eight further opportunities. Former BDO world champion Mark Webster said he “half expects” Littler to complete the clean sweep, adding that his game currently holds up “in any format and scenario”.
