“I was commentating on it and at some point I think I became a bit of a fanboy” - Gabriel Clemens raves about Luke Littler’s World Matchplay performance

Luke Littler left even seasoned darting pros in awe at the World Matchplay 2026. With a historic tournament average of 111.04 points across 107 legs played, the 19-year-old delivered one of the most dominant performances the sport has ever seen – eclipsing Phil Taylor’s long-standing record in emphatic style.

The latest episode of the podcast “Darts auf die 1” showed how this display impressed even players who compete at the highest level week in, week out. Gabriel Clemens, Robert Marijanovic, and Marcel Althaus broke down Littler’s extraordinary run – and even Clemens admitted he became a fan of the Englishman at times during the World Matchplay.

Althaus opened with a number that makes even experienced dart players sit up. "When you look at what Littler played at the World Matchplay, we're talking about 12.86 darts per leg. That's unbelievable. Anyone who has played even a little bit of darts knows just how incredible that is."

With a wink, he added: "You also have to say he failed miserably because he played one leg in over 19 darts. So, a catastrophic World Matchplay," joked the Bundesliga player.

Althaus then broke down the stunning stats in detail: Not a single 18-darter, just one 17-darter, plus two 16-darters, 14 legs in 15 darts, seven 14-darters, nine 13-darters, 16 12-darters, 18 11-darters, as well as two 10-darters and a 9-darter. "How is that even possible? Normally those numbers should get smaller the lower you go, but with him it's the other way around. He simply threw eighteen 11-darters, two 10-darters and a nine-darter. I have no words. What on earth was he doing?"

Clemens was likewise deeply impressed. After all, the newly crowned PDC title winner was on commentary for the World Matchplay himself.

"It was absolutely brutal. I was commentating on it and at some point I think I became a bit of a fanboy. Normally I'm more into the older players—Gary Anderson, Barney—I always liked watching the veterans. But what he produced, especially over that distance, was just completely insane. This is the Matchplay, not just a Players Championship event that's first to six legs. This is first to 17 or 18, and he was that dominant. It's unbelievable."

Marijanovic summed up Littler’s dominance in one line: "For everyone else it's the World Matchplay. For Luke Littler it's an exhibition."

He also struggled to find the right words for the world champion’s level. "You simply run out of words. The gap he has over the world No. 2 is bigger than anyone has ever had over the entire Order of Merit over a two-year period."

Althaus then picked up the debate on whether Littler’s superiority could hurt darts. He believes the opposite is true. "There are always people saying that. There are people like me—and apparently now Gaga as well—who can really appreciate it. I'm still a huge Littler fan and that hasn't changed.

"Then there are those who say darts has become boring. My answer is always this: when I started watching, there was a guy in a green shirt who dominated in a very similar way. Maybe not with the same level of performance, but he won almost everything. Every sport usually has a dominant figure. We should probably be grateful that over the last few years we've had so much variety before the two Luke's took over. We've had so many different major champions in recent years."

Marijanovic then recalled Littler’s first appearance at the 2024 World Darts Championship and revealed he had immediately recognised the potential. Right after the opening win over Christian Kist, he said to Sport1 colleague Basti Schwele in the commentary booth: "Mate, what is this? This isn't normal. This guy is insane."

Looking back, even he is surprised how rapid Littler’s rise has been. "I never dreamed that would only be the beginning of what we're seeing now. But somehow you had that feeling straight away."

To conclude, Clemens also showed understanding for those calling for more tension again. For him, the fascination outweighs everything.

"I can understand why a lot of people say it's become boring because he's so dominant. But at the end of the day, I just find it fascinating to watch. Maybe you don't always get the tension in the match, but it's simply fascinating."