Luke Littler defended his World Matchplay title in sensational style, obliterating Phil Taylor's tournament and final average records in the process. The 19-year-old world number one crushed seventh seed Gerwyn Price 18-9 in Blackpool, becoming just the fourth player to win back-to-back Matchplay titles.
Littler finished the week with an average of 111.04, surpassing Taylor's 2010 record of 106.31. He averaged 111.53 in the final, eclipsing Taylor's 111.23 against Adrian Lewis in 2013.
“Luke Littler defended his World Matchplay title with record averages, breaking Phil Taylor's tournament and final marks.”
"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, appearing in his first final since 2022, averaged 104.97 but was blown away. "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."
Littler's relentless scoring was on display from the start: a stunning 167 finish in the fourth leg secured an early break as he took the first mini-session 4-1. He led 8-2 with an average of 114.74, and a 148 checkout brought him within two legs. He hit 12 180s in the final, setting a tournament record of 66, surpassing his own 2024 total.
The win earned Littler £225,000, taking his PDC order of merit earnings to £3,143,500 — £2.13 million ahead of Luke Humphries in second. His victory extended his winning streak in matches of 20 or more legs to 29, the last such defeat being the 2024 World Championship final against Humphries.
Littler warned he can still improve. "I can still get better," he said. "I can get a lot better. Through the matches, I was up to a 120 average at one point and I didn't make it stick. Maybe in a few years' time I will stick it and go up to a 120 average."
He now aims for an unprecedented clean sweep of all PDC ranking titles in a calendar year, having already won the World Championship, UK Open, Premier League and Masters in 2025. "The main goal was to win every major once. I don't know how many years are left in me," he said. "We're still only two and a half years into my professional career. It's far from done."
Earlier, Beau Greaves claimed her third Women's World Matchplay title in four years, edging Fallon Sherrock 6-5 with a 56 checkout in the deciding leg.