Luke Littler won his first World Matchplay title with an 18-13 victory over James Wade at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. The 18-year-old became the fifth player to complete the PDC triple crown, having previously won the World Championship and Premier League, joining Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries.
Littler's scoring power proved decisive, hitting 17 180s to Wade's six and averaging 107. He set a new tournament record of 64 maximums, surpassing Adrian Lewis's previous best of 56. Wade, in his seventh Matchplay final 18 years after his sole success in 2007, took an early 5-0 lead, but Littler fought back to level at 5-5 and eventually led for the first time at 7-6.
The contest remained close until Littler pulled away from 14-13, sealing victory with a 115 checkout—the biggest finish of the match. 'It means absolutely everything,' Littler said. 'I idolise Phil, he’s come here 16 times and won it. Now my name is on this trophy—and I can say I’ve completed the triple crown.'
Littler became the youngest champion in Matchplay history, six years younger than Wade when he lifted the title. 'Five-nil down once again, I said: “I’ve been here before, what are you doing?” But I managed to pull it out of the bag,' he added. 'I’m happy I can pull myself out of these scorelines, but I don’t want to be 5-0 down again.'
