Luke Littler has defended his UK Open Darts Championship title, becoming the first player in ten years to win the tournament in consecutive seasons. The last player to achieve the feat was Michael van Gerwen. Littler, 17, admitted his performance was far from perfect, saying, "Like I said on stage, there were a lot of close games throughout this tournament and I weren't at my best at times. I missed far too many doubles that I would have liked to hit. But we got the job done and for the first time in ten years someone's gone back-to-back." He noted that seeing van Gerwen's record on social media a day or two before travelling motivated him, adding, "I don't think there's that many players who've gone back-to-back, never mind won it twice."
In the final, Littler faced James Wade, with the match finely balanced midway through. "Wadey got into the lead, I got into the lead, but I managed to get back in front in the back end of the game and keep the lead to win the title," Littler explained. He praised Wade, saying, "James is one of those players who won't go away. He'll always be there with you and he's very hard to play, as everyone knows. But on the board and even after it he's just a gentleman." Littler joked after the match, "I said to him I've beaten you back-to-back now, you can have it next year. And he said, 'Yeah, but I'll still be here.' That sums him up — he's still got a lot left in the tank."
Littler's current run of form is remarkable, as he has not lost a televised ranking match since October and continues to reach the latter stages of major events with consistency. When asked about dominating big titles, he said, "That's obviously the main aim," referencing seeing on social media that he has reached 16 or 17 consecutive semi-finals. He also competes in Premier League Darts, where a recent nightly victory helped rebuild momentum, moving him from seventh to third in the standings. "The Premier League on Thursday was a massive win to get myself from seventh up into the qualification spots," he said. "It wasn't the start I wanted, but now I'm sat third and that means a lot. To bring that form here and pick up the trophy as well means a lot, and hopefully I can kick on now."
The UK Open's demanding format, with long days and multiple matches, left Littler exhausted. "They're very long days," he admitted. "You win the afternoon game, then you're waiting around for the semi-final, and then it's a quick turnaround to the final." He compared it to European Tour Sundays, which are "even longer sometimes," and said managing practice and rest is key. After the weekend, he laughed, "I'm absolutely shattered now. But I can finally chill out tonight." Away from darts, Littler has received a nomination for the Laureus World Sports Awards and is excited about possibly meeting tennis star Carlos Alcaraz, another nominee. "I saw that Carlos Alcaraz was nominated as well," Littler said. "Hopefully I can meet him." He joked about a bet on Alcaraz beating Novak Djokovic. Despite his growing trophy collection, Littler insists there's room for more, smiling, "Hopefully. If I win another one, we'll make room again."
