Luke Littler has etched his name in the annals of darts history, becoming only the fourth player to successfully defend the UK Open title.
Littler secured his second consecutive UK Open crown with an 11-7 victory over James Wade in the final held in Minehead.
Following his dominant 11-2 triumph over Wade in the 2025 final, Littler once again proved superior to his English counterpart, albeit in a more closely contested affair.
In doing so, Littler joins Michael van Gerwen (2015 and 2016) as the only players in recent memory to achieve back-to-back victories in the prestigious ‘FA Cup of darts’.
The reigning world champion, aged 19, surged to an early 3-0 lead in the best-of-21-legs final, only to be pegged back by Wade to a 3-3 stalemate.
Littler swiftly regained control, winning the subsequent three legs, before Wade remarkably leveled the score once more at 6-6.
At this juncture, three-time UK Open champion Wade’s average stood at a modest 88, while Littler boasted an average slightly above 100. However, some uncharacteristic finishing errors from the world number one allowed ‘The Machine’ to remain in contention.
Despite Wade’s improved performance and Littler’s failure to reach his peak form, the teenager demonstrated his resilience by reeling off four consecutive legs from 7-7, ultimately sealing the victory.
Littler concluded the match with an average of 99.58 and a checkout percentage of 35.48%, statistics that proved sufficient to secure the £120,000 prize money.
“It feels amazing [to go back-to-back],” Littler told ITV4. “I don’t think it’s been the best of tournaments for me average-wise but I’ve dug deep throughout the tournament and I’ve come out with a win.
“I wasn’t happy with myself through the early rounds but, as a player, you’ve got to dig deep.”
Littler faced a stern test in his semi-final clash against Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock.
‘The Nuke’ struggled with his doubles early on, hitting just one of his first 17 attempts and falling behind 5-1. However, he displayed remarkable grit to battle back and secure an 11-9 victory, extending his unbeaten record in major semi-finals to 16.
Meanwhile, Wade emerged victorious in a thrilling semi-final encounter against Gerwyn Price, who had earlier triumphed over Jonny Clayton in an all-Welsh quarter-final.
Both players averaged over 100, with Wade registering 105.53 to Price’s 101.39, as he clinched an 11-8 win.
However, Wade was unable to replicate that impressive performance in the final as Littler claimed his 12th major title.
James Wade 7-11 Luke Littler
James Wade 11-8 Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler 11-9 Josh Rock
Krzysztof Ratajski 7-10 Josh Rock
James Wade 10-9 Rob Cross
Luke Littler 10-6 Danny Noppert
Jonny Clayton 8-10 Gerwyn Price
Recap: Littler wins second UK Open title – as it happened
What is the UK Open?
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