
Luke Littler hammers Ryan Searle at World Matchplay
And, although Searle was able to get on the board late on, there was never going to be any way back against Littler, who averaged nearly 109.
Darting demolition job from Luke Littler! ☢️
What a way to celebrate your first win at the Betfred World Matchplay!
The World Champion averages 108.92 to demolish Ryan Searle in brutal fashion!#MatchplayDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/6ttg4jhHwA
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 20, 2025
'I was well up for tonight,' Littler said on Sky Sports. 'I wanted that win, to get that winning feeling and I've done it in some standard.'
After revealing earlier this week he had failed his driving theory test for a fourth time, Littler said he has not been doing his homework for that as he has been keeping his focus on his game, adding: 'I've got a competition to focus on.'
He said: 'I've been practising so much. Obviously I've not put much on social media, but I've been at home putting the hours in, hours and hours, and I'm glad it's paid off tonight.'
World number four Stephen Bunting survived a dogfight with Ryan Joyce to advance with a 10-8 victory.
Joyce came from 8-4 down to level the contest at 8-8 when Bunting appeared to be distracted while looking to close out from 45, and was then a whisker away from going 9-8 up as he narrowly missed double five.
Bunting responded with a 180 and then checked out from 41 to secure his progress, but could not hide his frustration.
'I'm so disappointed,' he said. 'We had a battle last year. Thankfully I've not gone the distance this year and I've saved a bit of energy for the next round. We go on, we're in the next round.'
Clayton wins a cracker! 🏴
2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton defies a 103 average from Martin Schindler to win through a terrific first round tie at the Empress Ballroom!#MatchplayDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/122qo4SHKX
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 20, 2025
Fifth seed Jonny Clayton survived a tough contest against Martin Schindler to prevail 10-7, despite the German putting up better numbers for much of the contest.
Clayton's average was 99.60 compared to Schindler's 103.45 but the Welshman picked his moments to advance.
'I am here, I want to win this tournament,' Clayton said. 'Hopefully it is going to be my week. I love it when I pass the first round.'
CLAYTON WINS A THRILLER!
Jonny Clayton has won a thriller here in Blackpool!
The Ferret beats Martin Schindler 10-7 to book his place in the second round against Mike De Decker!
📺 https://t.co/ZboV9dF4Ji #MatchplayDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/TBfCXoBYfs
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 20, 2025
Earlier 13th seed Gary Anderson saw off Luke Woodhouse 10-5 despite a spectacular 167 checkout from the Englishman.
Four seeds were sent home during Sunday's afternoon session as further shocks followed Saturday's exits of top seed Luke Humphries and eighth seed Nathan Aspinall.
Seventh seed Damon Heta fell to Andrew Gilding in a contest that went to overtime, with Gilding eventually prevailing 12-10 after a late fightback came to nothing for Heta.
Gilding advances to face Dirk van Duijvenbode, who saw off 10th seed Rob Cross 10-8 after rallying from 6-2 down in a remarkable contest.
Jermaine Wattimena beat 15th seed Peter Wright 10-8 while Mike De Decker beat 12th seed Dave Chisnall 10-7.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Littler beats Wade to win first World Matchplay crown
Wade was in his seventh Matchplay final 18 years on from his solitary success in 2007, which came six months after Littler was born. Luke Littler is the new king of the Winter Gardens! 👑 The 18-year-old produces another spectacular performance to become the youngest champion in the history of the Betfred World Matchplay! 👏 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 27, 2025 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. LITTLER REIGNS AT THE WINTER GARDENS! ☢️ LUKE LITTLER IS THE 2025 WORLD MATCHPLAY CHAMPION! The World Champion produces a sensational display to defeat James Wade 18-13 and lift the Phil Taylor Trophy for the first time! 👏#MatchplayDarts | Final — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 27, 2025 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.


Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Ben Stokes enjoying ‘high quality' games between England and India despite draw
England reached 669 in their first innings before the game fizzled out, with India closing the day on 425 for four. KL Rahul fell for 90 before Jofra Archer then dismissed Shubman Gill for 103 and Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar both scored tons. Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja have shaken hands with Ben Stokes – the match is drawn 🤝 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 27, 2025 Stokes hailed the quality of the Test, telling Sky Sports: 'I thought Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett's opening partnership was incredibly crucial in the way we could sort of lay the foundations for the game. 'The opening partnership, the way they took the Indian attack on, the rate they were managing to score at it sort of allowed us to go, 'right we're going to try and bat once' and look to hopefully bowl India out. 'It started great yesterday with two wickets in the first over, but it was one of those wickets where if you got in, you felt like you were going to be the one to make the mistake to get out. 'It's been a back-and-forth series so far, we've been throwing punches and India have been throwing punches back at us, it's just been real high-quality cricket – two very good teams. 'Got to give credit to the way India came out here and performed under the pressure they were.' Washington Sundar celebrates his century (Martin Rickett/PA) With the game destined for a draw, the final stages of the match saw India's batters electing against shaking hands with 15 overs left. Jadeja and Sundar scored hundreds before shaking hands and Stokes revealed he offered to shake with the aim of protecting his bowling attack. 'I think all the hard work was done by India, they both played incredibly well,' Stokes added. 'It got to that point where there was obviously only one result and there was no chance I was going to risk any of my big, fast bowlers for injuries with one more game to go. '(Liam Dawson) has bowled so many overs this game, his body started to get a little bit tired and cramp up in the legs. 'I wasn't risking any of my frontline bowlers for that last half-an-hour.' Stokes appeared to be troubled by his left leg and a problem in his right shoulder, and admitted he was 'pretty sore'. Ben Stokes' side drew with India in the fourth Test (Martin Rickett/PA) 'It's been a big five or six weeks,' he said. 'I'll always try and give everything that I possibly can. Try and run through a brick wall. 'I ask the guys up there to run through a brick wall for the team. I'll always try and do the same to try and lead by example in that sense. 'Bowling, being out in the field all that kind of stuff it is tough work, but pretty sore.' When asked specifically about his shoulder, he added: 'It's just a workload thing, got through a fair few amount of overs and just everything starts creeping up on you. 'I'll keep trying, keep going. As I always say to all the bowlers, pain is only an emotion.'


Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal chase Eze, Liverpool agree £65m deal, Man Utd striker latest
Arsenal completed two transfers last week, with Viktor Gyokeres and Cristhian Mosquera joining the club, but they are not ready to stop there. Attention has now turned to Ebererchi Eze, with a £60million deal for the Crystal Palace playmaker being prepared by the Gunners. They are not the only team who are busy right now. Liverpool have splashed the cash in the summer transfer window, with an initial £265m already spent after the arrival of Hugo Ekitike, and while Alexander Isak remains on the radar, their current focus is sales. Luis Diaz is heading to Bayern Munich after a £65.5m deal was agreed with the German giants and Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott could follow him out of the door. Manchester United are in the market for a striker, Manchester City are poised to announce the signing of Burnley's James Trafford and there are many more transfers in the pipeline. Follow Mirror Football's live blog to stay up to date with everything that's happening.