Littler nine-darter helps him into final with Wade
The 18-year-old world champion was trailing 6-1 before completing the feat to deny Rock – who had hit two 180s – the chance to do so himself.
With 15 perfect darts, it can lay claim to be the greatest leg in the history of the tournament.
"It definitely sparked me into life. I didn't want to give it big because I was playing awfully," said Littler.
His fellow Englishman Wade, 42, reached his seventh Matchplay final with a 20-18 win over Wales' Jonny Clayton in an epic encounter on a thrilling night at Blackpool's Winter Gardens.
The teenager will aim on Sunday to become only the fifth player to win the Triple Crown, after Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries.
Littler is looking to seal the treble in little more than a year, eyeing Matchplay glory having won the Premier League in May 2024 before his World Championship triumph in January.
"I've won many finals and majors but this is the big one now, it all comes down to Sunday," he said.
It will be a repeat of the UK Open final in March, which Littler won 11-2.
That prospect looked unlikely as 24-year-old Rock, a World Cup winner with Northern Ireland, came out firing and opened up a 5-0 lead in the first session.
But then came Littler's brilliant nine-darter, which evoked memories of darts' greatest leg when Michael Smith did the same in the 2023 World Championship final after Van Gerwen just missed with his ninth dart.
"That is the second-best leg you will ever see in your life," said Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle.
It may have only been greeted with a shrug from Littler but it prompted him into a much-improved performance, and from 8-4 down he won seven of the next eight legs to go 11-9 in front.
Rock hit consecutive checkouts of 170 and 120 to close the gap to 14-12 but Littler prevailed in a match where he averaged 107.5 to his opponent's 104.15 and edged the 180 count 15-14. The maximums tally of 29 is a Matchplay record.
Earlier, Wade was one leg away from victory at 16-10 before Clayton reeled off six successive legs to force overtime.
"I'm just done, I'm exhausted. I hope the crowd here and everyone at home enjoyed themselves, because I hated every minute of it," said Wade.
Recap: All the updates as Littler hits nine-darter & Wade wins epic
How does the World Matchplay Darts work?
Wade wins 38-leg epic against Clayton
Wade has made the final six times previously, with his sole win coming 18 years ago.
There was little sign of the thriller that was to come as he started his semi-final strongly, taking out the bull for a 161 checkout to open up a 3-1 lead.
Clayton repeated the move in the 12th leg but it was only to peg back his opponent at 8-4.
Arguably the best player never to win the world championship, Wade remained in control until he was one leg away, then dramatically lost the next six as Clayton drew level at 16-16.
Wade could have been forgiven for buckling under Clayton's momentum, but nailed another 161 to edge ahead again and, although his opponent levelled at 17-17 and at 18-18, he finally clinched a memorable victory with sudden death looming.
The Englishman edged it 101.79 to 100.97 on the averages, with a 55.6% checkout success rate.
World Matchplay Darts semi-final results
James Wade 20-18 Jonny Clayton
Luke Littler 17-14 Josh Rock
Sunday's World Matchplay schedule
Women's World Matchplay (13:00 BST)
Quarter-finals (best of seven legs)
Beau Greaves v Kirsi Viinikainen
Lisa Ashton v Robyn Byrne
Noa-Lynn van Leuven v Lorraine Winstanley
Fallon Sherrock v Gemma Hayter
Semi-finals (best of nine legs)
Greaves or Viinikainen v Ashton or Byrne
Van Leuven or Winstanley v Sherrock or Hayter
Final (best of 11 legs, 16:00)
Men's Matchplay final (20:15, best of 35 legs)
James Wade v Luke Littler
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool closing in on Alexander Isak transfer
Liverpool are closing in on a move for Alexander Isak. The Reds made their first bid for the Swedish international on Friday afternoon. This bid was firmly rejected however while at this moment in time Liverpool don't plan to bid again, the Reds are still highly likely to sign Isak by the end of the window. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range from 9am TODAY Shop the LFC Store LFC x adidas Shop the away range TODAY LFC x adidas Shop the home range today! LFC x adidas Shop the goalkeeper range today LFC x adidas Shop the new adidas range today! That's because Newcastle's star forward has made it clear he wants to leave the club. Not only that but he wants to join Liverpool. This is why Isak did not travel to Asia for Newcastle's pre-season tour and had instead trained in Spain, away from the club's facilities. It's very clear that the Swede wants to join Liverpool and the Reds would like to sign him. This has been reiterated by a Swedish football expert, who exclusively told Anfield Watch he believes Isak will end up at Anfield. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas away range from 9am TODAY Speaking exclusively on Anfield Watch's YouTube channel, Journalist and Swedish football expert Maxi Angelo explained that he believes the Reds are closing in on securing a transfer for Isak, and that he is confident that the Swede will end-up signing for the club: "I do believe so [that Isak will end-up at Liverpool]," Angelo said. "I think from what I've been able to read and hear it, it feels like Alexander Isak as far as the relationship between Isak and Newcastle, it's at least reaching a point of no return. I think it says quite a lot that he's not even training at the Newcastle facilities. "I don't see why he wouldn't do that unless something's off. Even though he's not in Asia for the pre-season tour, he could still train at the Newcastle facilities to rehabilitate from an injury. But he's not and I think that's quite telling. "As far as a percentage goes, I would say maybe 60% or 70% [how likely it is at this stage]. That's just my gut feeling. I think it's getting more and more advanced each day."
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Newcastle Reject Liverpool's £120m Bid for Alexander Isak
Record breaking move blocked as Magpies demand £150m for Swedish star Newcastle Reject Liverpool's £120m Bid for Alexander Isak Newcastle United've reportedly rejected huge £120 million bid from Liverpool for striker Alexander Isak, in what could have become the most expensive transfer in British football history. Liverpool's Offer Falls Short According to the Daily Star, the Reds submitted official offer worth 120 million sterling poud but Newcastle immediately turned it down insisting that the Sweden international's valued at £150 million and isn't for sale this summer. Isak's Stunning Rise Signed in summer 2022 from Real Sociedad for £63 million , Isak's rapidly become one of the Premier League's top forwards. Last season he made 42 appearances, scoring 27 goal & providing 6 assists cementing his place as a key figure in Eddie Howe's squad. No Deal for Now Despite Liverpool's interest, Newcastle are holding firm with no plans to part ways with the 24 year old unless their massive valuation is met. With the transfer window heating up, Isak's future remains one of the biggest stories to watch.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Prasidh Krishna: India planned to ruffle Joe Root
Prasidh Krishna said India had a pre-conceived plan to ruffle Joe Root at the Oval, leading to a heated exchange between the pair. On a day of high drama and terse words at the Oval, Krishna drew an unusually animated response from the usually composed Root after sledging him when he was on nought. Root, the world's top-ranked Test batsman, then hit Krishna for four, and returned a verbal volley. Root has had an excellent series, making hundreds at Lord's and Old Trafford, but made just 29 before being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj amid an English collapse. By stumps, India were two down leading by 52 runs. Krishna said he was surprised by Root's response to him, given that the pair are former IPL team-mates. 'It was a very small thing, just a competitive edge amongst us coming out,' he said. 'Both of us are good friends off the field and it was just a little bit of banter and both of us enjoyed it. 'That was the plan [to ruffle Root] but I didn't expect a couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him, but I love the guy he is. He's a legend of the game. For him to come out, it's great when two people are out there wanting to be the best and be a winner in a given moment.' Marcus Trescothick, England's assistant coach, played the incident down as 'nothing you wouldn't hear on a normal game day', but said Ben Duckett had done well not to react when Akash Deep put his arm round him after dismissing him. Trescothick said: 'Joe just reacted differently than he has before. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. It was nothing serious to worry about. 'I was just saying [to the coaches] that many in my time would have dropped the elbow on [Deep], a bit different! I don't think I've ever seen a bowler do that after getting someone out. We've seen many words between the sides, and it was just different. We were laughing and joking about it. 'Yeah, of course he [Duckett] did well [not to react]. We've seen it in the series. Ben doesn't really do a great deal. There may be occasions in the future where he does. But you put your head down and walk off, the job is done. There is no need to walk him off in that fashion but the game has been fought in good spirits. Been many words and arguments, but the teams are getting on well enough and will continue to do so.' Eight of the biggest flare-ups in series full of needle Just as assuredly as it brought more compelling cricket, the second day at The Oval brought more skirmishes on the field too. These added to the sense that England's series with India has been among the most fraught of recent years. One simple reason for what is euphemistically called the needle between the sides has been time. With the first four Tests all finishing late on day five, there has now been cricket on 22 days this series: ample time for disagreements to fester, especially with all the matches so competitive. A five-Test series simply allows greater scope for tensions to multiply. There has been another dynamic that has informed this series, too: the cooling of England's relationship with the Indian Premier League. Only two of England's players at The Oval – Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton, who are both playing their first Tests of the series – featured in this year's IPL. A striking number of England players have indicated a relative lack of interest in the IPL. Harry Brook is banned from the next two seasons of the competition after withdrawing at late notice this year. Brook, like his teammates, has not struck up friendships with Indian players during the IPL, in the manner that men like Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Kevin Pietersen did. All these forces have come together to make for a series that has contained more needle since perhaps any involving England since the 2005 Ashes. Here are eight of the biggest flare-ups this series. Shubman Gill v Zak Crawley, Lord's day three At precisely the moment when a series is normally coming to an end – the third evening of the third Test – this clash burst into life. With six minutes remaining on day three at Lord's, England's openers used elaborate time-wasting tactics to ensure that they would only have to face a solitary over. India sarcastically applauded Crawley as he called over the physio, with captain Shubman Gill telling him to 'grow some f------ balls'. These scenes set the template for much of what has followed since. Before day four, KL Rahul promised that India would be 'fired up' when play resumed; the team were as good as his word. When Mohammed Siraj dismissed Ben Duckett on the fourth day, he screamed in the batsman's face. Brydon Carse and Harry Brook v Akash Deep, Lord's day four Twenty-four hours after England's skulduggery, India attempted some flagrant time-wasting of their own to try to avoid facing another over. Brydon Carse pointed at Akash Deep, India's nightwatchman. Harry Brook was even more direct, telling Deep to 'do your f------ job'. Ben Stokes and Harry Brook v India, Old Trafford, day five After Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar had batted with admirable discipline to secure a draw at Old Trafford, thereby keeping India alive in the series, Ben Stokes offered his hand to Jadeja to offer a draw. But India's pair, as they were well within their rights to do, preferred to bat on – both securing their centuries, and also forcing England to remain in the field longer before the last Test. In response, a petulant Harry Brook offered his hand sarcastically when Jadeja reached his century, and bowled a series of slow, loopy off breaks which made clear that he was piqued. Gautam Gambhir v Lee Fortis, The Oval, two days before the Test As the fifth Test loomed, tensions extended beyond even the players themselves. At The Oval, two days before the last Test, India head coach Gautam Gambhir and Surrey's head of ground staff Lee Fortis squared off. Fortis told Gambhir to avoid encroaching on the square. In response, Gambhir shouted and wagged his finger at the groundsman. Gambhir shouted 'you can't tell us what to do' and was heard to say later: 'You're just a groundsman, nothing beyond that.' The pair were eventually separated by Sitanshu Kotak, India's batting coach, and other members of the Indian support staff. Showing little inclination to defuse the situation, Kotak later accused Fortis of being 'a bit arrogant'. Mohammed Siraj v everyone Mohammed Siraj's sheer zest for the fight has been a common feature in much of the most compelling cricket this series. In his desperation to succeed, Siraj can sometimes irk opponents, as when screaming in Duckett's face at Lord's. At The Oval, Duckett could be overheard referring to Siraj as 'Mr Angry'. Akash Deep v Ben Duckett, The Oval, day two Struggling to defend against Deep, Duckett instead resorted to a series of extraordinary scoops and reverse scoops. When one such shot led to his downfall, gloving the ball behind, Deep smiled and put his arm on the batsman's shoulder. In theory, such physical interaction is prohibited by the International Cricket Council's code of conduct, but Duckett did not respond. For all the evident competitiveness of the two men, this interaction seemed essentially good-natured. Prasidh Krishna v Joe Root, The Oval, day two Joe Root is very seldom involved in altercations. But even he hasn't been immune from the wider tensions against India. From the fifth ball of his innings at The Oval, Root played and missed, leading Prasidh Krishna to utter uncomplimentary words. The pair then exchanged heated words and stares on multiple occasions, leading the umpires to intervene. Ben Duckett v Sai Sudharsan, The Oval, day two In the last throes of the second day at The Oval, there was still time for one more high-octane incident. After Sai Sudharsan was rightly given out lbw to Gus Atkinson, he started to walk off the field. Then, seemingly goaded by Duckett, Sudharsan decided to review his lbw decision after all. The upshot was that India squandered one of their reviews: a welcome bonus for England, on top of Sudharsan's wicket. By the end of this series, you suspect, there will be more on-field incidents to add to this list. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
