Luke Littler continues his sensational run to go back-to-back at the UK Open
Luke Littler continues his sensational run to go back-to-back at the UK Open
Luke Littler successfully defended his crown at the UK Open on Sunday night in Minehead, defeating James Wade in the final for the second consecutive year.
The 19-year-old battled through the tournament’s enormous 157-player field to retain the title and lift the £120,000 winner’s prize at Butlin’s Minehead Resort. Littler’s 11–7 victory ensured he became the first player since Michael van Gerwen in 2015 and 2016 to win the event in back-to-back years.
Littler made a blistering start to the final, racing into a 3–0 lead and immediately putting pressure on Wade. However, the experienced Englishman refused to allow the match to get away from him, responding well to cut the deficit to 3–2 by the first interval.
As the contest progressed, Wade’s resilience became increasingly evident. Although Littler continued to edge ahead, Wade repeatedly found a way to pull himself back into contention and eventually levelled the match at 6–6. At that stage Littler still held a sizeable 12-point advantage in the averages, yet the scoreboard remained locked.
The pivotal moment arrived in leg 15 when Littler produced a crucial 116 checkout, a finish that shifted the momentum firmly back in his favour. Buoyed by that moment, the teenage sensation reeled off four successive legs to pull clear and ultimately secure his second straight UK Open title.
The victory placed Littler among an exclusive group of players to successfully defend the tournament crown. Only Raymond van Barneveld, Phil Taylor, and Van Gerwen had previously achieved the feat.
It also extended Littler’s incredible run in Premier ranking tournaments. Since his defeat to Wade at the European Championship last October, the reigning world champion has remained unbeaten in those events.
“This feels amazing,” admitted Littler, who secured his fifth consecutive Premier event title with the victory in Minehead.
“I don’t think it’s been the best of tournaments for myself averages wise, but I’ve dug deep throughout the tournament and I’ve come out with the win.
“If James had hit some of those darts at double top it would have been a completely different game, but me and James always have a good battle.
“Coming into the tournament I saw that the last person to go back-to-back was Michael ten years ago, same as the World Championship, so that was the target I set myself!
“I don’t think many people expected me to come here and win, and I don’t think many people expected me to win in the Premier League on Thursday.
“I had a little dry spell, but I think I can say I’m back!”
Littler’s path to the title included several challenging encounters throughout the weekend. On Finals Day he began with a 10–6 victory over 2022 champion Danny Noppert, finishing strongly by winning five of the final six legs and producing a superb 161 checkout along the way.
He then faced Josh Rock in the semi-finals. Despite falling 5–1 behind and enduring a difficult spell in which he missed 16 consecutive darts at double, Littler recovered brilliantly to secure a dramatic 11–9 victory.
Earlier in the tournament the world number one had already dispatched Australian star Damon Heta on Friday night before surviving a tense 10–8 win against Kevin Doets. Littler then produced one of his best displays of the weekend by defeating 2018 champion Gary Anderson 10–5.
Wade, meanwhile, delivered an impressive run to reach the final and challenge for a fourth UK Open title. The 42-year-old began by edging past Chris Dobey in a deciding leg despite Dobey averaging 102.
He then comfortably defeated Gabriel Clemens before producing a standout performance against Van Gerwen, averaging 105.83 to defeat the world number four.
Playing in his 24th consecutive UK Open, Wade continued his run with another deciding-leg victory against Rob Cross in the quarter-finals, sealing the match with a clinical 107 checkout.
His momentum carried into the semi-finals, where Wade delivered one of the performances of the tournament to defeat Gerwyn Price 11–8. Wade averaged over 105 and fired 11 maximums, becoming only the second player in history after Taylor to reach five UK Open finals.
Despite that impressive run, Wade was ultimately unable to stop Littler in the final.
“Luke was just too good for me there in the end,” confessed a gracious Wade, who fell to defeat against Littler in a third consecutive final.
“I couldn’t quite find it, but hats off to Luke, he’s doing what he does and he does it quite easily!
“I think for the last 18 months I’ve done alright. Luke’s flying the flag. He’s the best player in the world at the moment, and unfortunately I’ve lost to him in three finals!
“I’m happy to be in the final. I hate losing more than anyone, but I lost to the better player on the day.”
Earlier on Finals Day, Rock had secured his second consecutive UK Open semi-final appearance thanks to a 10–7 comeback win over Krzysztof Ratajski. After trailing 6–4, the Northern Irishman surged back to win six of the final seven legs, finishing the match with an impressive 63% checkout rate.
Price earned his semi-final place by defeating fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton 10–8 in a high-quality quarter-final. Price hammered in 10 maximums during the contest and held his nerve late on, despite Clayton producing big finishes of 116 and 140, to reach his first UK Open semi-final since 2021.
Luke Littler continues his sensational run to go back-to-back at the UK Open
2026 Ladbrokes UK Open
Sunday March 8
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
Josh Rock 10-7 Krzysztof Ratajski
James Wade 10-9 Rob Cross
Luke Littler 10-6 Danny Noppert
Gerwyn Price 10-8 Jonny Clayton
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
James Wade 11-8 Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler 11-9 Josh Rock
Final
Luke Littler 11-7 James Wade
