Nine-dart king Luke Littler seals breathtaking Josh Rock comeback, faces brilliant James Wade in World Matchplay final
PDC
A nine-darter and a remarkable comeback for Luke Littler as the World Champion is en route potentially to his maiden World Matchplay title. He came from 6-1 down, hit perfection and beat Josh Rock 17-14.
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All of this while hitting a 107 average, 15 180's to boot while Rock hit a 104 average and 14 180's in defeat. Littler now faces James Wade tomorrow for the biggest prize of all.
Rock had an utterly dream start to the contest that many would’ve expected Littler to win such is the clamour for the 18-year-old. But he raced into a 5-0 lead winning the opening five legs without reply. He punished five missed darts at double from Littler.
But the best was yet to come in one of the best mini-sessions ever in Blackpool history as Littler nailed the nine-darter but it’s Rock who remained four clear with a 105.5 average and six 180’s. The next session saw the reigning World Champion close the gap to three in the tie as he made it 6-9 and the sting in the tail was to come as The Nuke reeled off five legs on the spin to surge in front 11-9.
From 170 Littler left 40 to go 12-10 up. He pinned double 10. Littler missed the bull for 124. Rock though couldn’t hit a double and Littler picked off 25 to go 13-10 up.
Littler pinned double 20 to make it 14-10. Just as Littler thought he had him though, Rock broke with a 170 checkout for 14-12 to break. Rock hit a superb 120 checkout and was one behind at 14-13. But Littler hit double 20 to make it 15-13. Littler missed 70 for 16-13 and Rock went one behind again with a hold.
Littler was suddenly one away though as despite missing 87, he returned for double 10 eventually for a hold. A break needed for Rock or he was going home. Or in this case an 86 checkout for a break for Littler to win.
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| Luke Littler | VS | Josh Rock |
|---|---|---|
| 107.5 | Average (3 Darts) | 104.15 |
| 33 | 100+ Thrown | 33 |
| 23 | 140+ Thrown | 28 |
| 15 | 180 Thrown | 14 |
| 141 | Highest Checkout | 170 |
| 1 | Checkout 100+ | 2 |
| 34.7 | Checkout percentage | 34.1 |
| 17 / 49 | Checkout | 14 / 41 |
The longevity of Wade
While James Wade continued his love affair with the World Matchplay seeing off Jonny Clayton in extra time 20-18 in a superb win for 'The Machine'.
Wade surges into a seventh final after winning in 2007. The former 007 is certainly hoping he can write the wrongs of his loss to Luke Littler at the UK Open where he played excellent all tournament then fell flat in the final.
Wade kicked off the third leg of the contest with a statement going up 2-1 with back-to-back 180’s and sealed it with an 11-darter. Before then piling in a 161 checkout to break throw and move two clear.
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Wade was averaging 108 after an incredible start but it was Clayton who went into the break cleaning up 60 to stay in touch and stay on his coattails only for Wade to brush them off as he won three legs on the spin breaking throw again to open up daylight with 6/9 on the doubles. Clayton stopped the rot by sealing leg 10 to reduce the deficit to 7-3.
He made sure that he was in the game with a 161 of his own to make it 8-4 and trail by four. But Wade shut the door. He moved five clear upping his average to 104 and an astonishing 10/16 on the doubles.
Clayton hit an 11-darter and broke with a 120 checkout but the ebbs and flows saw Wade go back ahead with an 84 checkout to go two away at 15-10. But unfortunately for Wade, he was sent to a tie-break. Clayton won a remarkable six legs in a row to drag himself off the floor at the final count.
He made it 16-16 only for Wade to hit another 161 to make it 17-16 but on we went. They both held throw and something needed to give. Clayton missed darts to stay in it and Wade stole a break and the win. Some match.
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| James Wade | VS | Jonny Clayton |
|---|---|---|
| 101.79 | Average (3 Darts) | 100.97 |
| 55 | 100+ Thrown | 53 |
| 34 | 140+ Thrown | 30 |
| 8 | 180 Thrown | 9 |
| 161 | Highest Checkout | 161 |
| 2 | Checkout 100+ | 4 |
| 55.6 | Checkout percentage | 43.9 |
| 20 / 36 | Checkout | 18 / 41 |
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 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
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026