Luke Littler absolutely shattered Phil Taylor’s tournament and final average records, defending his World Matchplay title in a sensational 18-9 victory over seventh seed Gerwyn Price in Blackpool. This isn’t just a win; it’s a total rewrite of what we thought was possible, and the darts world is buzzing about what this 19-year-old phenom just accomplished.
Records Are Falling, And Littler Is Just Getting Started
Seriously, what Littler pulled off is mind-blowing. He joins an exclusive club with Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen as the only guys to win back-to-back Matchplay titles. But he didn’t stop there. The kid finished the entire week with an average of 111.04, completely blowing past Taylor’s previous record of 106.31 set back in 2010. And in the final? Forget about it. Littler posted an insane 111.53 average, crushing Taylor’s 111.23 against Adrian Lewis in 2013.
We’re talking about a payout of £225,000 for this win, and his two-year PDC order of merit now sits at an astounding £3,143,500. That’s a whopping £2.13 million more than Luke Humphries in second place! You hear Littler talk about it, and he makes it sound almost easy, but the dude admitted it was a “crazy week,” one of the best of his life, but “tough” and “not easy” on that stage. That just tells you the level of focus and skill it took to make those stats look effortless.
Dominance From Start To Finish
Littler rolled into that final as the overwhelming favorite, and he wasted zero time proving why. A ridiculous 167 finish in the fourth leg secured an early break, setting the tone as he snatched the first mini-session 4-1. He kept that foot on the gas, roaring to an 8-2 lead and hitting an average of 114.74. Think about that, he was nearly touching Taylor’s all-time Matchplay game record of 114.99! Even when his level dipped a tiny bit over the next two sessions, he still took both 3-2, just relentlessly pushing towards the finish line.
The dude closed it out with another brilliant 148 checkout , his sixth ton-plus finish in the final! He then held serve to claim his fourth ranking title of the year. Oh, and he also smashed his own tournament record for 180s, hitting 12 in the final to reach a staggering 66 for the event. Even Gerwyn Price, who had a solid week himself, averaging 104.97 in the final and climbing to fourth in the order of merit, couldn’t touch Littler’s absolute masterclass.
This 19-year-old isn’t slowing down. He’s already stacked up four ranking titles this calendar year. You have to wonder what records are left for him to smash next. The darts world is officially on notice.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply