PDC World Darts Championship Round-up | Luke Littler produces phenomenal display as he defeats Cross in thriller
PDC
Luke Littler’s aspirations of a second world title took
another positive turn after he defeated 2018 world champion Rob Cross 4-2 in the
fourth round of the PDC World Darts Championship to confirm his spot in the
quarter-finals.
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In a repeat of the 2024 semi-final, both players were not up
and running at their usual pace, especially Cross who missed his chances to
make a more competitive set. He was broken straight away missing darts to hold,
before Littler missed some of his own but remained unpunished due to Voltage
not being anywhere near a finish. He managed to get a first leg by taking out
74 but the reigning world champion took out 70 to take the first set, averaging
around eight points ahead of his opponent.
Cross got a break of his own at the start of the second set,
taking out 109 before letting out a big roar. After Littler missed double
seven, Cross punished him and went 2-0 ahead. A 65 checkout from The Nuke kept
him involved but missed darts to stay in the set saw Littler lose his first set
of this tournament on double 16.
A 13-darter on double 7 put Littler back on track. An
11-darter on tops followed with a 128 outshot on the bull a quickfire way of winning
the third set and sprinting back in front, averaging over 125 in the set.
More missed chances continued to allow Littler steam ahead. Littler
was averaging 104 but still there for the taking at times surprisingly, but
only if Cross was flawless on the outer ring. While Cross’ level improved in the
next set, Littler was rampant. The 18-year-old missed a set dart on the bull with
Cross also failing to find that target but by some distance. Littler pinned
double 10 before letting out a huge and passionate roar as he moved within
another quarter-final.
A pair of holds opened up what would be the final set of the match. Cross had the darts for the set, and pinned the bull for a 126 checkout to move within one. Littler had been antagonised by the crowd throughout, but got the last laugh after he eventually got the job done. He survived a set dart from a resurging Cross on tops, finding that target to move within one before taking out 68 in three to win the match. He gave some to the crowd as he went off passionately celebrating after a hard-fought win. He averaged over 106 while finding 17 180's in one of the performances of the tournament. He will come up against either Luke Woodhouse or Krzysztof Ratajski in the last-eight.
| Luke Littler | VS | Rob Cross |
|---|---|---|
| 106.58 | Average (3 Darts) | 98.92 |
| 25 | 100+ Thrown | 30 |
| 15 | 140+ Thrown | 14 |
| 17 | 180 Thrown | 7 |
| 128 | Highest Checkout | 126 |
| 1 | Checkout 100+ | 2 |
| 42.9 | Checkout percentage | 40 |
| 15 / 35 | Checkout | 10 / 25 |
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Rock boosts title ambitions
Josh Rock was a man on a mission in his third-round tie
against Callan Rydz, defeating the two-time quarter-finalist 4-1 to finish off
the last-32 action at Ally Pally.
It was a very tough night for Rydz, who was mourning the
death of his grandfather. He was doing it for him, and looked towards the sky
after clinching the first set and getting off to the best start. Rock was
struggling on the outer ring, and was capitalised by the Englishman who broke
on double eight for the set.
After they both got a leg on the board in the second set, Rocky
went seven darts into the perfect leg, unable to find a second treble 20 to
leave double 12. He wrapped it up on double 16 before Rydz also went seven
darts into a rare nine-darter. He left double one after nine and pinned it for
a terrific 10-darter. Two legs later, a satisfying bull was found by Rock who
moved ahead for the first time in the contest.
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It was a tight fourth set. Rydz went ahead twice and was
looking to move the match level. Rock pegged him back twice before sailing
ahead with an emphatic 83 outshot. As Rock moved within one leg of the match, a
missed match dart opened the door for Rydz to force a last-leg decider. He took
advantage of this with a 110 checkout before a 112 from the World Cup champion
sealed his spot in the fourth round, and an upcoming tie against Justin Hood.
| Josh Rock | VS | Callan Rydz |
|---|---|---|
| 98.98 | Average (3 Darts) | 93.39 |
| 24 | 100+ Thrown | 24 |
| 14 | 140+ Thrown | 9 |
| 9 | 180 Thrown | 5 |
| 112 | Highest Checkout | 110 |
| 1 | Checkout 100+ | 1 |
| 41.9 | Checkout percentage | 50 |
| 13 / 31 | Checkout | 9 / 18 |
Searle reaches maiden quarter-final
Ryan Searle has jumped back into the top 16 after being the
first player to confirm his spot in the quarter-finals with a convincing 4-0
win over James Hurrell. Searle averaged a ton in the first set as he won a
last-leg decider to sneak him ahead. Double 20 was getting a battering from
both players, but especially from Searle who found his range on his favourite
double early on. After missed doubles, he survived a 101 attempt from Hurrell
to take the early advantage.
It was much more comfortable in the second set. After Hurrell
missed four darts at double, Searle broke on double 10 before winning a third leg
on the spin to move him within one of a two-set cushion. After Hillbilly missed
the bull for a 90 checkout, Searle took out 109 on tops to race further ahead.
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Heavy Metal grabbed a fifth consecutive leg before Hurrell
almost comically tripped over the oche. He made up for it by getting a leg on the
board. He had a great opportunity to break after sloppiness from Searle but
Hurrell squandered his chances at tops. Searle held on double one. Hurrell then
missed another five darts to clinch the leg before Searle managed to get the
set over the line, moving him within one of a maiden quarter-final in the World
Darts Championship.
He broke early in the fourth set on double four before a
14-darter on tops solidified his position. Double 19 was found from Hurrell which
prolonged his tournament but it would all come crumbling down when tops was
found yet again from Searle who progresses. He has dropped just 11 legs in this
year’s tournament and is yet to drop a set.
| James Hurrell | VS | Ryan Searle |
|---|---|---|
| 89.51 | Average (3 Darts) | 100.57 |
| 13 | 100+ Thrown | 19 |
| 9 | 140+ Thrown | 20 |
| 6 | 180 Thrown | 2 |
| 80 | Highest Checkout | 109 |
| 0 | Checkout 100+ | 1 |
| 20 | Checkout percentage | 50 |
| 4 / 20 | Checkout | 12 / 24 |
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Milly ThomsonLive Darts Blogger
Milly Thomson is an aspiring journalist with a deep-rooted passion for a wide range of sports, including football, darts, and cricket. She recently completed her university studies, earning a BA (Hons) in Football Business and Media—a degree that has given her a solid foundation in both the commercial and communications aspects of the sporting world.
Milly combines her academic background with her genuine enthusiasm for sports to produce engaging and insightful coverage across multiple disciplines. Her writing reflects a strong understanding of the games she follows, as well as a keen interest in the stories behind the athletes and events.
As she continues to grow in the field of journalism, Milly is committed to using her voice to inform, entertain, and connect with fellow sports fans. With a clear focus on developing her skills and expanding her portfolio, she is excited to contribute meaningful content to the wider sporting community.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026