Luke Littler was at his brilliant best in a 17-5 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode to set up a World Matchplay Darts final against Gerwyn Price at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

Littler’s statistics continued to astound. He came through the contest with a 110.88 average, 16 180s, and a 50 per cent success rate on the doubles.

Those figures add to an over 113 average and nine-darter against Nathan Aspinall, plus 109 averages against Niko Springer and then Josh Rock in the quarter-finals.

Not only that, Littler has now hit £3m in prize money and there is a £2m gap between himself and Luke Humphries as world No 2.

Littler is looking to become the first player in a decade to go back-to-back in Blackpool, Michael van Gerwen last achieving the feat in 2016.

A Matchplay win is also key to his target of completing a clean sweep of trophies in 2026. He already holds the World Darts Championship, UK Open, Premier League and Masters. He is also defending the Matchplay, Grand Slam, Grand Prix and the Players Championship Finals.

Meanwhile, the ‘Iceman’ Price, who has never lifted the Phil Taylor trophy, is back in the Blackpool final for the first time since 2022 when he was defeated 18-14 by Michael van Gerwen.

It is also his first TV ranking final in three years.

While Littler has made more history with becoming the first player to surpass the £3m barrier, he has much more history in his sights, including taking the longest run at world No 1 from Phil Taylor.

“I want to stay dominant. I want to keep winning and winning,” Littler told Sky Sports.

“I want to be at the top and I want to beat Phil’s record.

“I want to beat Phil’s record of world No 1 which is three or four years.

“We come back tomorrow and hopefully go back-to-back.”

Littler puts in demolition job to continue title defence

Littler started his semi-final bout in imperious fashion and from then did not slow down. After opening with an 11 and then 12-dart leg to follow, he quickly found himself 4-1 up.

The world No 1 reached even more ridiculous heights in the second session. By the time he was 8-2 up, he was giving Van Duijvenbode no chance thanks to some brutal scoring.

That scoring included seven 180s, 12 140s, just three trebleless visits, and a 117.10 average.

‘The Nuke’ dropped the 11th leg but then romped on to pick up for more in a row, finishing off the third session in style with a 130 checkout (T20, T20, D5). By Littler’s standards, the session was his weakest but even then, he was just 0.9 shy of Taylor’s record Matchplay average of 114.99.

Littler’s acceleration towards Cup collection day meant he was 16-4 up when a break arrived, needing one leg to cement his spot in another major final.

However, some poor doubling meant Van Duijvenbode pushed the match into the 22nd leg, Littler missing five match darts.

In that final leg, Littler got the crowd to their feet with back-to-back maximums and after setting up tops after 12 darts, he pinned it for the dominant win.

Price takes back top spot in Wales and is ready for Matchplay glory

Price booked his spot in the World Matchplay final with a 17-10 victory over Gian van Veen.

The win moves Price up to the world No 4 spot and also sees him take Welsh No 1 back from Jonny Clayton.

“Jonny Clayton – I am more happy to be Wales’ No 1- come on,” Price told Sky Sports.

“It is bragging rights. Clayton has been Welsh No 1 for about a year-and-a-half but I am back!

“The first six months of this season I have been playing really well.

“To reach a final I am happy but the ranking, top four, one up on my buddy Jonny.”

It was an early and a late surge that helped Price power past Van Veen with the outer ring frustrating both players in patches. The first session went all the way of the Welshman as he found two breaks of throw and a silky 125 checkout in the fifth leg to canter into a 4-1 lead.

World No 3 Van Veen did make sure to hit back and with three legs on the spin, he managed to bring the score to 6-4. A run of five breaks of throw in a row followed, after which Price had a 10-7 advantage.

The fifth session is when Price then really turned the screw, his signature ‘booyah’ celebration coming out after every big dart. Averaging over 111, Price rattled off four legs in a row and eventually took out tops for the 27th and decisive leg.

What’s next?

Sunday afternoon sees the fifth edition of the Women’s World Matchplay, live from 1pm on Sky Sports Action, with Lisa Ashton returning as defending champion and Beau Greaves looking to win the event for a third time in four years.

The 2026 Betfred World Matchplay final takes place later that evening, with Luke Littler facing Gerwyn Price in a best-of-35-leg contest.

Who will win this year’s World Matchplay Darts? Live coverage begins on Sunday from 7.30pm on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event, with the final getting under way around 8.15pm. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.