“Not sharp enough when it mattered” - Gerwyn Price left to rue missed chance after Luke Littler Premier League thriller

Gerwyn Price was left to reflect on a painful Premier League Darts near-miss after his campaign ended with a dramatic 10-9 semi-final defeat to Luke Littler at the O2 Arena.

The Welshman looked beaten when Littler moved 9-4 ahead in London, only for Price to produce one of the great late rallies of the 2026 Premier League campaign. Five missed match darts from Littler opened the door, and Price almost forced his way through it, dragging the contest all the way to a deciding leg before the world number one eventually survived.

Price averaged 100.42, higher than Littler’s 98.47, and produced a series of huge finishes during the fightback. But after the defeat, the 2021 world champion admitted the decisive moments had slipped away.

Taking to Instagram after the match, Price wrote: “Oh well, on we go. Not sharp enough when it mattered. Tough, long campaign this year but enjoyed every minute. Thanks everyone once again for showing me the utmost respect and support all the way through. Week off, then back on the wagon we go.”

Price’s semi-final against Littler looked to be heading towards a heavy defeat when the league table-topper moved within one leg of the final at 9-4.

Instead, the match suddenly turned. Littler missed five match darts, and Price responded with the kind of surge that has long made him one of the most dangerous players in the sport when momentum begins to swing.

He had already produced big moments earlier in the match, including 137 and 115 finishes, but the comeback gathered real force late on. A 124 checkout on D11 broke throw for 9-8, before Price wired the bull for another 124 in the next leg. He returned to clean up 25 and complete the recovery from five legs down, forcing a decider that had looked almost impossible only minutes earlier.

Littler still had the throw in the final leg and made it count. An opening 180 gave him control, and he eventually pinned D16 to seal a 10-9 win and book his place in the final against Luke Humphries.

For Price, the frustration was obvious. He had played well enough to win for large parts of the match, but the final leg left him with the feeling that he had not quite found his sharpest darts at the moment the match was there to be taken.

Price’s message also reflected the wider story of his Premier League season.

He started the campaign strongly, winning two nights and spending long spells inside the top four. At one stage, his place at Finals Night looked close to secure. But the closing weeks became more complicated, with form concerns, health issues and withdrawals from other events all feeding into a more uncertain build-up to the O2.

Even so, Price held on to qualify for Finals Night and arrived in London as the fourth seed, facing Littler in a repeat of one of the defining match-ups of this year’s Premier League.

His semi-final defeat means the campaign ends without a first Premier League title, but not without signs of fight. The comeback against Littler was a reminder that, even during a difficult spell, Price remains capable.

The Iceman's focus now turns back to the wider season. The Premier League is over, and he may be out of the upcoming World Cup of Darts, but the tone of his post was clear enough: Price is far from done.