Luke Littler won his second consecutive Betfred World Matchplay title after beating former world champion, Gerwyn Price in Blackpool last night.
There appears to be no stopping Littler at the moment, as the current world champion dismantled Price by 18 legs to 9, hitting an average of 11.53 in the game, and 11.04 in the whole tournament, breaking the record set by legend Phil Taylor of 106.31.
Luke Littler also broke his own record for 180s, as he hit 12 maximums in the final, reaching 66 overall.
This win also keeps him on course for a clean sweep of trophies this year, having already won the World Championship, Premier League, UK Open and the Masters. He also defends the Grand Slam, Players Championship and Grand Prix.
Having led 3-1 early on when he took out a 167, Littler soon led by 11 legs to 3, leaving Price feeding off scraps. But the Welshman have himself a lifeline, cutting the deficit to 14-7.
But Littler put that fire out in style, hitting a nine darter to lead 15-9, before finishing it off to win back to back World Matchplay titles.
Speaking afterwards, Luke Littler described this win as "one of the best weeks" of his life. "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", he added. "I feel like it’s the best version of myself. I have just played so well".
Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price, gracious in defeat, paid tribute to Littler.
"Luke is one in a million," Price said, who appeared in his first World Matchplay final since 2022. "I think I played pretty decent".
"In that game I missed a couple of opportunities but the bull checkouts, the 167, it was a big turning point even though it was early in the game", he added. "I didn’t play brilliant, but I played decent". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
