Luke Littler crushes Gerwyn Price to retain World Matchplay title in Blackpool
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 GOES BACK-TO-BACK ????Luke Littler completes the greatest World Matchplay campaign in history, averaging 111.04 across the tournament… ????Littler defeats Gerwyn Price 18-9 in the final to claim his second Phil Taylor Trophy ???????? https://t.co/xXnQhVoUPy#MatchplayDarts pic.twitter.com/mRk9dYbuhj— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 26, 2026Littler 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.”Oh, you SPITEFUL YOUNG MAN!” ????️Littler takes out 167 and Wayne Mardle is loving it ???? pic.twitter.com/tejaulfeOF— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) July 26, 2026“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