Luke Littler won his first World Matchplay crown as James Wade’s remarkable run in Blackpool fell at the final hurdle.
Littler claimed a hard-fought 18-13 victory at the Winter Gardens to become the fifth player to win the PDC Triple Crown – Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries having also won World Championship, Matchplay and Premier League titles.
Wade was in his seventh Matchplay final 18 years on from his solitary success in 2007, which came six months after Littler was born.
Littler’s scoring power in a high-quality contest proved decisive – he hit 17 180s to Wade’s six in averaging 107 – and set a new tournament record of 64 maximums, beating Adrian Lewis’ previous best of 56.
“It means absolutely everything,” Littler told Sky Sports after winning the last four legs to hold the Phil Taylor Trophy aloft.
“I idolise Phil, he’s come here 16 times and won it. Now my name is on this trophy – and I can say I’ve completed the Triple Crown.
“Since I started on the Tour and got my Tour card I’ve always said to myself, ‘as long as I win one of every major I’ll be happy.’
“I’ve only got a few left to tick off and I’ll definitely chase the majors I haven’t won yet.”
Littler had to mount another comeback 24 hours after losing the first five legs of his semi-final to Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock.
Wade stormed into a 5-0 lead but did not have a single dart at a double in the second mini-session as Littler levelled in style.
The 42-year-old left-hander produced an 11-darter in the next, but Littler responded by winning successive legs to lead for the first time at 7-6.
Wade managed to keep in touch, helped by a bull finish in the 19th leg, and fought back from a double break down to cut the gap to just one at 14-13.
But Littler pulled away and crossed the line in style with a 115 out shot (20-57-38), the biggest finish of the match.
“A little bit,” Littler said when asked if he had felt in control. “Five-nil down once again, I said, ‘I’ve been here before, what are you doing?’
“But I managed to pull it out of the bag and win the next five. I’ve shown I can come back from 5-0 or 7-3 down.
“I’m happy I can pull myself out of these scorelines, but I don’t want to be 5-0 down again.
“James started to drop off a bit and I started to find my best darts.”
By winning the title 18-year-old Littler became the youngest ever champion in Matchplay history, six years younger than Wade when he lifted the title.
