REIGNING champion Luke Littler continued his flawless defence of his Betfred World Matchplay crown with a majestic 16-7 dismantling of close friend and rival Josh Rock.
The quarter-final clash at the iconic Winter Gardens initially promised to be a tight, baseline battle. Northern Ireland’s Rock broke throw in the very first leg and capitalised on early momentum to match “The Nuke” dart-for-dart, leaving the match deadlocked at 5-5 going into the second session.
However, the 19-year-old world number one from Warrington shifted into an unstoppable gear right after the interval. Littler unreeled five consecutive legs to storm into a 10-5 lead, completely shutting Rock out from even finding a single target dart at a double during the entire session.
Littler’s heavy scoring was relentless, highlighted by a staggering 17 maximum 180s and an effortless 110 checkout that extended his lead to 13-6. Rock dug deep to mount a brief resistance but was ultimately overwhelmed by Littler’s 109.57 tournament average and a sharp 53% success rate on checkout doubles.
The defending champion comfortably wrapped up the 23-leg match on his preferred double 10. The victory marks his 27th consecutive multi-leg win exceeding 20 legs, underlining his status as the most fearsome long-format player in world darts.
Speaking to Sky Sports Darts, Littler stated that “everything is going to plan” as he eyes becoming the first player to win back-to-back Matchplay titles since Michael van Gerwen in 2016. “I feel good,” Littler said. “I can afford to miss a few doubles because the scoring is there. I have gone 109, 113, and 109 again across my matches, so I just have to keep it going.”
Littler moves into a blockbuster semi-final showdown against the Netherlands’ Dirk van Duijvenbode, who advanced earlier in the evening after surviving a tense 16-13 thriller against veteran Gary Anderson.
LITTLER ROUTS ROCK! ☢️
Luke Littler storms through to the semi-finals!
The reigning champion averages 109.57 to complete a majestic 16-7 victory over Josh Rock!
📺 https://t.co/xXnQhVoUPy#MatchplayDarts pic.twitter.com/1T1uZql556
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 23, 2026
