“The days of me doubting Littler are over” – Glen Durrant vindicated by Luke Littler’s nine-dart World Matchplay masterclass

Glen Durrant abandoned his pre-World Matchplay doubts over Luke Littler shortly before the defending champion took to the Winter Gardens stage on Tuesday night. By the end of the evening, the decision looked well timed.

Littler opened his second-round encounter with Nathan Aspinall by throwing a nine-darter and wired double 15 for another perfect leg in the fourth. He eventually completed an 11-8 victory with a 113.68 average⁠ and 14 maximums. Only Phil Taylor has produced a higher average at the World Matchplay. His record of 114.99 came during a 10-6 first-round victory over Barrie Bates in 2010⁠.

Littler also became only the second player after Taylor to throw two nine-darters at the tournament. His previous perfect leg came against Josh Rock in the 2025 semi-finals—the same opponent now waiting for him in this year’s quarter-finals.

Durrant had initially predicted that Littler would not retain the Phil Taylor Trophy. That position began to change during the world number one’s 10-6 opening-round victory over Niko Springer. “I said he wouldn’t win the World Matchplay, but I like his draw,” the former three-time BDO world champion told Online Darts.

The opening exchanges against Springer had caused some concern. Littler’s action appeared less fluid than usual, although the apparent technical discomfort did not prevent him from averaging 109.53.

“I didn’t like his throw during the first seven or eight legs of his opening match,” Durrant said. “There was almost a slight delay in the action. He normally has a throw where everything comes together in one movement. Then I looked and he had averaged 109. I think the days of me doubting Littler are over. If anyone can do it, he can.”

Littler raised that level further against Aspinall, producing the second-highest average in the tournament’s 32-year history while keeping his title defence firmly on course.

Luke Humphries had been Durrant’s original selection for the title, but his opinion changed when the draw paired the 2024 champion with Cameron Menzies. “You interviewed me in Aylesbury, where I said I fancied Luke Humphries,” Durrant recalled. “Once the draw was made, though, I said on Sky that I didn’t like it.”

Durrant was particularly concerned by the prospect of Humphries facing Menzies before a potential second-round meeting with Ross Smith. His concerns were realised when the Scot secured a 10-7 victory with a spectacular 170 checkout.

Menzies’ ability has never been in question for Durrant, who faced him regularly during his years at the top of the BDO. “Honestly, Phil, I think Cameron Menzies is one of the ten most talented players I’ve ever played against,” he said. “He is terrifically talented, but he hasn’t always been quite right mentally.”

Durrant noticed a more controlled player against Humphries. Missed doubles that might once have provoked a visible reaction were quickly put aside as Menzies completed the biggest victory of his PDC career. “What happened was that Cameron Menzies suddenly got the right people around him,” Durrant explained. “Whether that was the PDPA, a psychologist, his new partner or his family, he looked in a good headspace.”

Menzies now faces Smith for a place in the quarter-finals. Durrant had already identified Smith as his outside selection before the tournament, leaving one of his favoured outsiders certain to progress.

Wessel Nijman also impressed Durrant with the ease of his 10-5 victory over Dave Chisnall. Questions had surrounded the Dutchman’s lack of a major television run despite his success on the ProTour and European Tour, but Durrant sees a throwing action built for either environment.

“That throw is so good,” he said. “People have said that he is great on the floor but not on the television stage. I go back to the Grand Slam of Darts, where he was incredible and just didn’t get the rub of the green.”

Nijman generally travels with his parents and keeps a small circle around him rather than building a large entourage. Combined with what Durrant called an “efficient and effective” throw, that understated approach has helped him climb rapidly towards the top of the rankings.

His second-round opponent, Gian van Veen, publicly installed Nijman as the favourite for their all-Dutch encounter. Durrant was surprised to hear that assessment from a player who began 2026 in outstanding form.

“That was interesting to me because it suggested Van Veen might not be entirely where he should be mentally going into that game,” he said. Van Veen’s injury-enforced interruption earlier in the season also remains a concern, with Durrant adding: “Once that self-doubt enters your game, it can be very difficult to deal with.”

Gary Anderson arrived in Blackpool with a different question hanging over him. The Scot had played only 49 competitive matches during the season, according to Durrant, but swept those concerns aside with a 109.96 average in his 10-2 demolition of Ryan Joyce. “He has that Rolls-Royce throw,” Durrant said. “Once he began finding the treble 20, you could see the belief coming back.”

Anderson could not reproduce the same average against Jonny Clayton, but he recovered from 4-1 behind to win 11-7 and reach his first World Matchplay quarter-final since 2020. He will face Dirk van Duijvenbode after the Dutchman’s 14-12 victory over Michael van Gerwen.

Durrant’s admiration for Anderson extends beyond a single performance. He nearly joined the Scot’s management stable during his own playing career and maintains that his action may be unmatched. “Part of my job these days is assessing throwing actions, and I don’t know whether there has ever been a better throw than Gary Anderson’s,” he said.

Victory in Blackpool would keep Littler’s pursuit of an extraordinary sweep of the season’s major titles alive. It would also bring Players Championship events back into his schedule as he attempts to qualify for the Finals in Minehead.

“He wants to break records and has always admitted that,” Durrant said. “If he wins the World Matchplay, he has openly admitted that he will go to Hildesheim, Leicester and the remaining Players Championship events.”

The possibility of one player dominating the sport to the extent once achieved by Taylor had appeared remote. Littler’s accumulation of major titles has reopened the discussion, although Durrant does not envisage a career stretching across the same period.

“I don’t see 16 world titles from Luke,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ve got him for the next five or ten years, but he isn’t only a darts player any more. He is a personality and somebody everybody in the UK knows.”

Durrant expects Littler to collect another four or five world titles before his fame, wealth or outside opportunities eventually pull him in another direction. That would represent a shorter period of dominance than Taylor’s, but potentially one of unprecedented intensity.

Rock will be the next player asked to slow that momentum. Littler enters their quarter-final with match averages of 109.53 and 113.68 behind him, as well as Blackpool’s first nine-darter of the week.