The greatest darts ever seen: Luke Littler betters Phil Taylor’s historic World Matchplay tournament record

Luke Littler has made history once again at the World Matchplay 2026. The reigning world champion successfully defended his title in Blackpool, doing so in a manner that eclipses even the most formidable feats from the Phil Taylor era. With a tournament average of 111.04, the Englishman posted the highest ever by a player winning this prestigious ranking event.

That figure is all the more striking when set against the previous record. It had stood since 2010 in the name of English darts legend Phil Taylor, who won the tournament back then with a staggering tournament average of 106.31.

For years, that achievement seemed almost untouchable, especially as Taylor also occupied third, fourth, and fifth on the all-time list. Littler has now put a definitive end to that.

With his 111.04 average, the 19-year-old English superstar bettered the old mark by a full 4.73 points. Over an entire televised tournament, that is an unprecedented gap. Where a tournament average above 100 is already exceptional across multiple matches, Littler managed to stay well above 111 points per visit throughout his entire run to the title. A phenomenal achievement.

Remarkably, the young Englishman was already on the list. During his first World Matchplay title in 2025, he recorded a tournament average of 105.12, which was good for sixth all-time at the time. Just one year later he has comfortably surpassed that and catapulted himself into first place.

The leaderboard of highest title-winning tournament averages therefore shows a striking distribution. Phil Taylor still occupies second, third, fourth, and fifth with averages of 106.31 (2010), 105.81 (2013), 105.73 (2009), and 105.50 (2011) respectively. Littler is now, however, the only other player to appear twice in this exclusive top six.

The feat once again underlines how remarkable Littler’s rise is. While many of Phil Taylor’s records were long viewed as untouchable, the young Englishman is increasingly bending historical statistics to his will. His dominant title defense in Blackpool not only earned him the Phil Taylor Trophy once more, but also a record that will likely stand as the new benchmark for years to come.

With two entries in the top six and a lead of nearly five points over the old record, Luke Littler has added a new chapter to the history of the World Matchplay.