Littler wins Matchplay and smashes Taylor record

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Luke Littler joins Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen as the only back-to-back winners of the World Matchplay By Callum Matthews BBC Sport Senior Journalist Published 25 minutes ago Luke Littler defended his World Matchplay title in sensational style and smashed Phil Taylor's tournament and final average records in the process. The 19-year-old beat seventh seed Gerwyn Price 18-9 in Blackpool to become just the third person to win back-to-back Matchplay titles. World number one Littler finished the week with an average of 111.04, beating Taylor's record of 106.31 in 2010. He averaged 111.53 in the final, setting a new record as he bettered Taylor's 111.23 against Adrian Lewis in 2013. Littler claimed £225,000 in prize money for winning the event and now has £3,143,500 over the PDC's two-year order of merit. That is £2.13m more than Luke Humphries in second spot. "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 averaged 104.97 in the final and has enjoyed a successful week, climbing to fourth in the order of merit and reclaiming the Welsh number one spot from Jonny Clayton. Littler went into the final as the overwhelming favourite and a stunning 167 finish in the fourth leg secured an early break to help him claim the first mini-session 4-1. That form continued as he led 8-2 and was averaging 114.74, with Taylor's record of 114.99 in any Matchplay game in sight. His level dropped slightly in the next two sessions but he still claimed both 3-2 to push ever closer to the finish line. He moved to within one leg with another brilliant 148 checkout - his sixth ton-plus finish in the final - before holding to claim his fourth ranking title of the calendar year. The back-to-back world champion also hit 12 180s in the final to set a new tournament record of 66, surpassing the total he set last year. Related topics Darts More on this story World Matchplay Darts 2026 - Schedule, draw and prize money Published 19 minutes ago