DISCUSSION | World Matchplay: Can Luke Littler get better? Gerwyn Price future questioned as Michael van Gerwen’s struggles analysed

The top 32 darters in the world made the trip to Blackpool to compete in the World Matchplay, but in reality, it was about one man. Luke Littler successfully defended his title after defeating Gerwyn Price 18-9 in the final.

As ever there are a number of talking points while numerous questions have been raised and answered about the players in action. For the most part on Littler whose historic heroics deservedly took up a lot of the attention.

Away from the world number one, this latest discussion also outlines unanswered doubts over the future of Price and the contrasting performances of certain Dutch players at the Winter Gardens after another fascination World Matchplay comes and goes.

Lucas Michael, Editor for DartsNews.com was the first to praise Littler’s historic run while also raising questions and doubts over Price’s future in the sport.

Where else to start aside from Littler. Every performance was majestic, but that final especially was something to relish. Price must have been thinking he was playing against an impenetrable robot at times, but in fact it was a 19-year-old from Warrington continuing to light up the world of darts. His mentality on display was exquisite, not letting up at anytime. There may be a slight disappointment over not finding a big fish or another nine-darter, but I think he can find consolidation by lifting the Phil Taylor trophy again.

After the match, Littler stated: "I can still get better. I can get a lot better." Can he? Because if he can, is there any point in the rest turning up? Jokes aside, it is an ominous sign from the two-time world champion and a wake-up call to the rest. The likes of Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen who are supposed to be his biggest challengers lost in the early rounds. Can they find another gear or two to compete with ‘The Nuke’ or is he just too good. Probably edging towards the latter in this current moment in time.

Enough on Littler, there were 31 other players competing at the Winter Gardens over the past nine days. It was another enthralling tournament with surprises and upsets along the way. At the start of the year, saying that Gian van Veen making a run to the semi-final would be somewhat of a surprise may have left many bemused. While the performances were not at the level he would have intended, the Dutchman was winning. Victories on the floor and European Tour have not been as common for the world number three who cannot have anymore excuses. This was a positive run, but he needs to up the level as he will not make it to more major semi-finals playing the way he did at times last week.

Gary Anderson is another player who promised much but ended with a whimper. Averaging almost 110 before knocking out Jonny Clayton was a brilliant start, but again the consistency by ‘The Flying Scotsman’ was just not there as Dirk van Duijvenbode dumped him out. It may be harsh to say that with him averaging over 101, but the 16-13 scoreline flattered him. One 14-6 and 15-8 down, this could have been a completely different segment if he was to pull off the great escape. Anderson will continue to challenge for major titles, but it is obvious that he was not the threat on the oche he once was.

A final word for Price who is back in the world’s top four, a prime position to be in for Premier League Darts qualification. Nevertheless, he may not appear in the event next year with him indulging in a lot of other tasks away from the oche. Once he becomes a grandfather, it will be even trickier with family coming first. A shame from a darting perspective because even Price with little preparation can still battle for the biggest titles in the world. Think what he could be winning if he had put the hours in.

There is little doubt in my mind that he is currently the third best player in the world, behind the two Luke’s, and is capable of reaching those prior heights. Darts needs a character, and that’s what Price is. If his darts career is going to fizzle out one way or another in the near future, it would be a huge shame.

Pieter Verbeek, Editor for DartsNieuws.com touches on van Gerwen’s struggles as he underlies the importance of the next few months.

"Impressive. There are few other words to describe what Luke Littler produced at the World Matchplay over the past week. ‘The Nuke’ entered the tournament as the overwhelming favourite and more than lived up to those enormous expectations. Playing five matches across such a demanding format and still recording a tournament average of 111 is simply extraordinary. In doing so, Littler obliterated the previous record set by darts legend Phil Taylor, who averaged 106.31 across the 2010 tournament.

"Nathan Aspinall was arguably the only player who managed to keep pace with Littler for any significant period. The pair were locked at 7-7 after fourteen legs in the second round, before Littler eventually pulled clear to claim an 11-8 victory. It was also the match in which Littler produced his highest average of the tournament, an astonishing 113.68.

"It underlines just how exceptionally well Littler’s opponents now have to play if they are to have any chance of beating the English teenage sensation. Gerwyn Price also performed superbly in the final. Yet even with an average of 105, the Welshman managed to win only half as many legs as Littler eventually accumulated.

"Price can nevertheless look back on an excellent tournament, despite making a difficult start with a hard-fought 11-9 victory over Martin Schindler. It was Price’s first appearance in the final of a ranking major since 2023 and his run also secured a return to the world’s top four. That position is thoroughly deserved, with Price’s form over the past eighteen months certainly placing him among the four best players in the world.

"Gian van Veen also underlined his credentials in Blackpool. The Dutchman had struggled for form for several months, but reached the semi-finals at the Winter Gardens. In doing so, ‘GVV The Giant’ certainly justified his position as world number three. Dirk van Duijvenbode also made it through to the semi-finals and is now closing in on a return to the world’s top 20, a position where ‘Aubergenius’ undoubtedly belongs. For both Dutchmen, their performances should provide a significant boost heading into the autumn.

"The same cannot be said for Michael van Gerwen, who was beaten by Van Duijvenbode in the second round. The three-time world champion dropped three places on the PDC Order of Merit and now sits seventh, his lowest position in the world rankings since 2012.

"Van Gerwen does, however, have relatively little prize money to defend at the upcoming majors. ‘Mighty Mike’ will need to take advantage of those opportunities, particularly because he has a World Darts Championship final appearance from two years ago to defend. If Van Gerwen fails to produce strong results during the autumn, there is a real possibility that he could fall outside the world’s top 16 in 2027. The coming months therefore promise to be hugely important for Van Gerwen."

Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com continues the glowing praise for Littler while shedding light on van Veen and van Duijvenbode’s ‘fantastic’ semi-final run.

"Wow, what a World Matchplay! Although everyone had expected Luke Littler to win going in, the way he did it was truly on a whole new level. A tournament average of 111.04 over such long matches is simply off the charts. Whilst you still held out hope in every match that either Littler would have an off day or his opponent would be on top form, you actually knew in advance that the match was as good as over. That made the tournament less exciting, but what can you say about this lad? What he can do is simply extraordinary. When he sets his sights on a tournament, he’s simply unbeatable.

"Price, who also recorded an average of around 105, didn’t stand a chance. Against any other player, he would very likely have won a final with this performance. He was simply unlucky to come up against the prodigy known as Luke Littler. Still, he can look back on a fine tournament. After a dramatic opening match against Schindler, which he really should have lost, he went from strength to strength throughout the tournament and deservedly secured his place in the final. As a result, ‘The Iceman’ is now finally back in the world’s top four – a place where, as far as I’m concerned, he belongs.

"Dirk van Duijvenbode and Gian van Veen can also look back on a fantastic tournament. Van Duijvenbode wasn’t tipped as a dark horse by anyone beforehand, and to be honest, I hadn’t quite predicted this either. Nevertheless, he has shown – particularly in his match against Anderson – that he is slowly regaining the form of his best years. But unfortunately for him, he also found himself up against Luke Littler. Van Veen didn’t actually play a particularly good tournament, but still managed to reach the last four. It was mainly thanks to his finishes that he managed to fight his way through the matches, but against Price, ‘The Giant’ simply ran out of steam in the end.

"The Dutchman we’re gradually becoming increasingly concerned about is Michael van Gerwen. In his second-round match against Van Duijvenbode, he didn’t really seem to have the will to win. Moreover, his early exit has seen him drop to 7th place in the Order of Merit, and if he isn’t careful, he could find himself much lower down by the end of the year.

"Finally, I’d like to mention Wessel Nijman, who was tipped beforehand as a potential challenger to Littler. Although he was knocked out in the second round by Gian van Veen, I don’t think it will be long before he goes far in a major tournament. He played strongly and with maturity against his compatriot, but was unlucky that Van Veen landed a number of high finishes at decisive moments. I think that had he won that match, he too would have reached at least the semi-finals; however, luck just wasn’t on his side. But given the form he’s in, and the several major tournaments still to come later this year, I believe that deep run at a major is only a matter of time."

Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE ponders if Price will kick on and challenge for more major titles as the German contingent failed to make their mark in Blackpool

"Honestly, I do not know why, but after tipping Luke Humphries to win the 2026 World Matchplay, I apparently needed this tournament to finally realise that the bigger surprise this season would be if Luke Littler didn't win every single PDC major, rather than completing the clean sweep.

"This 19-year-old phenomenon is years — perhaps even decades — ahead of his competition. As Littler himself confirmed in his post-match interview, I also had the feeling throughout the week in Blackpool that this was the very best version of him we have seen so far. A tournament average of 111.04. As is so often the case in sport, I think we will only fully appreciate the magnitude of that number many years from now. We have become accustomed to the highest possible standards from Luke Littler, but averaging 111.04 over 107 legs on one of the sport's biggest stages is not only a new Blackpool record — it is sporting history. It represents a level of performance, and a contrast to everything we have witnessed over the past few decades, that comes along only very rarely.

"Luke Littler overshadowed the entire 2026 World Matchplay. Yet if we try to look beyond the reigning World Champion, one other player stands out above the rest — unsurprisingly, the runner-up, Gerwyn Price. At a stage of his career where the Welshman seems to prefer spending time on his farm rather than at the dartboard, he still managed to reach the final of the season's second-biggest ranking event without producing his A-game. More than the present, however, I find myself wondering about the future. We have known for years that Gerwyn Price is good enough to reach major finals and win them. The more intriguing question for me is: what will this run lead to? Will this final appearance reignite the fire in the belly of "The Iceman"? Or will we be sitting here again in a few months discussing why Price, for whatever reason, looks like a shadow of his former self?

"Finally, as always, I want to take a brief look at Germany's story at the tournament — although, admittedly, it is once again a short one. Niko Springer bowed out in the opening round despite an excellent performance against the greatest Blackpool champion of all time. Martin Schindler, meanwhile, encapsulated in a single best-of-10 match all the battles he has been fighting this season — both with himself and with the dartboard. And so, the wait for only the second Blackpool victory in the history of German darts goes on – hopefully, only for another year."