There are some darts records that are thought impossible to be broken. There are some records that are all together forgotten about, pieces of history that will never be matched by anyone.
In 2009, Phil Taylor came into the second edition of the European Championship as the defending Champion and top seed. He beat the likes of Thornton, Anderson, Klaasen and Beaton to claim the title, but he did it in the most astonishing of ways.
His five match averages were the following:
6-2 v. Toon Greebe (111.03 average)
9-0 v. Robert Thornton (110.88 average)
10-3 v. Gary Andedrson (118.14 average)
11-3 v. Jelle Klaasen (109.36 average)
11-3 v. Steve Beaton (109.35 average)
It was a standard that simply has never been seen before or since. He won a major title with a tournament average of 111.54, beating the record he set in the same venue the previous year of 108.2.
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No one has ever got near this record, with Michael van Gerwen coming closest after winning the 2016 Premier League with a tournament average of 107.48, still four points off the mighty Taylor.
Luke Littler came into the 2026 World Matchplay as the defending Champion, and the top seed. In the form of his career with lots of potential records to break (longest win streak in majors, first man to £3m), but this is perhaps one that he didn’t contemplate.
Three wins down, Luke Littler moves into the Semi-Finals with a tournament average of 110.91, just 0.63 off the record set 17 years ago, with two more matches to increase his numbers.
That isn’t the most impressive part, when Taylor achieved that great feat it was done in a shorter format event, playing 58 legs over the entire tournament.
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Luke Littler has already played 58 legs in the Matchplay and still has a minimum of 35 to go, likely to be 50+.
Top 10 darts major tournament winning averages:
1. 111.54 – Phil Taylor – European Championship 2009
2. 108.20 – Phil Taylor – European Championship 2008
3. 107.48 – Michael van Gerwen – Premier League 2016
4. 107.38 – Phil Taylor – UK Open 2009
5. 106.81 – Phil Taylor – UK Open 2013
6. 106.73 – Phil Taylor – Premier League 2012
7. 106.43 – Phil Taylor – UK Open 2010
8. 106.37 – Michael van Gerwen – World Championship 2017
9. 106.31 – Phil Taylor – World Matchplay 2010
10. 106.31 – Michael van Gerwen – World Series of Darts Finals 2015
This isn’t the only ‘unbreakable’ record that Luke Littler has the opportunity to test this week, however.
With last nights win over Josh Rock, he moves onto 34 consecutive wins in ranking majors, dating back to his loss against James Wade at the 2025 European Championship. This is now the joint second longest streak ever seen in the PDC, matching the best run of Phil Taylor himself!
1. 42 wins – Michael van Gerwen – March 2016 – July 2017
2. 34 wins – Phil Taylor – November 2008 – November 2009
2. 34 wins – Luke Luttler – November 2025 – July 2026
4. 29 wins – Phil Taylor – 3 times
5. 25 wins – Luke Humphries – November 2023 – March 2024
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Images: PDC
