Luke Littler will take on Gerwyn Price in the 2026 Betfred World Matchplay final after dismantling Dirk van Duijvenbode 17-5 with another staggering darts performance on Saturday.
Littler produced his fourth consecutive average above 109 – a 110.88 – to bulldoze past Van Duijvenbode in the semi-finals at the Winter Gardens and continue his marvellous Blackpool campaign.
The World Champion raced out the traps to lead 8-2 with an astounding 117 average after ten legs, even if the Dutchman took out the biggest checkout of the match with a 146 finish to reduce the arrears to 8-3.The world number one’s darting rampage continued, taking out 130 to lead 12-3 before missing five match darts to win 17-4, as Van Duijvenbode capitalised to hang in the match.
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Nevertheless, Littler closed out the contest with a 13-darter to seal his spot in a second consecutive World Matchplay final, becoming the first player in PDC history to reach £3 million in prize money.
“I was probably more focused about the highest average which I shouldn’t have been, but we got the job done and now it’s back-to-back finals,” said the 19-year-old phenom, who recorded the seventh-highest average in World Matchplay history.
“I saw my average on the screen at one point and it was 117! It was another good performance. “I want to stay dominant. I want to keep winning and winning.”
Littler recorded just nine trebleless visits in 22 legs in a darting masterclass, smashing in 16 maximums and hitting 50% of his doubles attempts.
The defending champion holds a tournament average of 110.88, threatening to blow away Phil Taylor’s record of 106.31 set in 2010, and he has his eyes set on more history when he faces Price in the showpiece.
“I want to try and beat Phil’s record, so I’ve got to keep going,” insisted Littler.“
Me and Gezzy always have great games. We’ve had great games in the Premier League this year, and last year at the World Grand Prix.
“I think Gezzy will want to get me into a roaring battle tomorrow, but as long as I can get into the lead, I’ll be happy.”
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Price had earlier dispatched Gian van Veen 17-10 to reach his first televised ranking final since 2023 and his second World Matchplay final.
The former runner-up raced into a 6-1 lead which included a neat 125 checkout, before the Dutch number one retaliated to take four legs straight of his own.
Nevertheless, the Welshman recovered with aplomb, bursting into an 11-7 lead, before winning six of the last seven legs to go one game away from claiming a maiden Phil Taylor Trophy.
“I’m more happy to be Welsh number one!” said Price, who shot up to world number four with his semi-final victory and overtook Jonny Clayton in the process.
“Jonny’s been Welsh number one for a year and a half, or two years. But I’m back!
“For the first six months of the season, I’ve been playing really well. I probably haven’t played as much as I should have.
“To reach a final, I’m happy. I was more nervous today, I wanted to reach a final and get back into the top four of the world and become Welsh number one.”
The 2026 Betfred World Matchplay final between Littler and Price will begin from 2000 BST, with coverage starting from 1930 BST.
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The Betfred World Matchplay is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN, CANAL+ and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2026 Betfred World Matchplay Darts
Saturday July 25
Semi-Finals
Gerwyn Price 17-10 Gian van Veen
Luke Littler 17-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
2026 Betfred World Matchplay
Sunday July 26 (2000 BST *)
The Final
Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
Best of 35 legs
* For the evenings session on July 23-26, Sky Sports will be on air from 1930 BST, with play commencing from approximately 2005 BST.
ENDS
Images: Taylor Lanning / PDC
