Littler's Record Average Shows the Gap to Price - and the Rest - Is Widening

Gerwyn Price said, ahead of Sunday's World Matchplay final, that his A-game could beat Luke Littler. By the time the 19-year-old had finished with him, that claim looked less like confidence and more like wishful thinking. Littler's 18-9 win at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool wasn't just a successful title defence. It broke a scoring record that had stood since 2010, and it raised an uncomfortable question for everyone else on the PDC circuit: how do you stop a player who is getting better with every major?

A record that outlasted Taylor for 16 years

Across all five matches of what Sky Sports called a perfect week at the Winter Gardens, Littler never dropped below a 109 average, eclipsing the tournament scoring record Phil Taylor had held since 2010. The final itself produced an 111.53 average, 12 maximums and six ton-plus checkouts against Price, the 2022 runner-up, while Littler also rewrote his own tournament record for most 180s in a single Matchplay.

Winning the title puts Littler among just four players ever to defend the World Matchplay crown, and the first to do it since Michael van Gerwen. Alongside Taylor's name now sitting beneath his own in the scoring record books, it's the kind of week that turns a strong run into a historic one.

The numbers that decided it

Price wasn't outclassed for lack of trying - he averaged 104.97 across the final. Littler simply produced more, and the scoreboard began reflecting the difference almost immediately.

The opening three legs went with throw before Littler's first bullseye finish of the tournament - a 167 checkout - set up a hold on 110 that put him 4-1 up, despite Price averaging over 109 across that early stretch. Littler then reeled off back-to-back 11-dart legs, took out tops-tops for a third ton-plus finish inside the first nine legs, and followed it with checkouts of 128 and 127 that took just 47 darts to complete. Four legs came and went in that burst alone, stretching his lead to 11-3 and effectively deciding the contest, even as Price won successive legs to keep himself within six.

Any hope of a comeback was answered emphatically: Littler broke throw again with a 148 checkout, then closed out the match on the bullseye with an 81 finish. It was less a procession than a series of bursts - Price kept finding legs, Littler kept finding bigger finishes to match them.

Price's grace in defeat

Price's post-match reaction said as much about the gap between them as the scoreline did. Speaking to Sky Sports, he called Littler "one in a million" and pushed back on any crowd negativity towards the teenager: "If anyone wants to boo this kid there is something wrong with them. He is fantastic for this sport." He added a line that captured his frustration and admiration in the same breath: "I hope there is nobody else like him coming through, because he is ridiculous!"

Littler, for his part, described the week as one of the best of his life, telling Sky Sports: "I have played some of the best darts of my life. I feel like it is the best version of myself." Given the record he'd just broken, it was hard to argue.

What this means for the rest of the season

This was Littler's 10th consecutive win over Price and his 28th consecutive win in PDC major matches played over 20 legs, a run stretching back to the 2024 World Championship final. Those aren't the numbers of a rival still finding his level against elite opposition - they're the numbers of someone who has already worked out how to beat the best players in the game repeatedly, and is now doing it while breaking historical records rather than merely matching them.

The win also reclaimed the Phil Taylor Trophy, the £225,000 first prize, and extended Littler's lead at the top of the PDC rankings. Sky Sports reported he broke the £3m barrier during his run to the final. He continues his run of winning every PDC TV major in 2026, which only sharpens the question hanging over the rest of the tour: can anyone find an answer before the calendar runs out on him doing exactly that across every ranked major this year?

What's next

The next PDC ranked TV major is the BoyleSports World Grand Prix, running from 28 September to 4 October at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. Littler returns as defending champion after beating Luke Humphries in last year's double-in, double-out final. The Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton (14-22 November) and the World Darts Championship (10 December-3 January) follow, with Littler looking to retain both titles.

Research: Our wider editorial research consults online reporting from BBC Sport, Sky Sports, The Guardian and other reputable sources. Story inspiration: Sky Sports' original report.