Luke Littler lands nine-darter in World Matchplay quarter-final win
Luke Littler’s nine-darter lit up an 11-8 win over Nathan Aspinall, a ruthless Blackpool display that pushed him toward a first World Matchplay crown.
Luke Littler hit a nine-darter in an 11-8 win over Nathan Aspinall at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, the flashpoint in a match that carried him into the quarter-finals of the 2025 Betfred World Matchplay. The perfect leg came in a high-quality contest against a former World Matchplay champion, but the scoreline mattered just as much, because Littler finished the job under pressure rather than leaving the door open.
The win extended a Blackpool campaign that had already started in command. Littler opened the tournament with a 10-6 victory over Niko Springer and averaged 109 in that first-round match, a marker of the level that made him one of the favourites to defend the Phil Taylor Trophy. He arrived at the event after winning both the World Championship and the Premier League in recent seasons, and the early rounds showed a player carrying form, power and control into one of darts’ toughest stages.
Aspinall’s pedigree added weight to the performance. A former World Matchplay champion, he brought experience and previous success at the Winter Gardens, yet Littler kept matching him leg for leg before producing the nine-darter that turned the match into the tournament’s defining moment. The fact that he still closed out an 11-8 win after that burst of perfection underlined the difference between a highlight and a statement: Littler was not just throwing one spectacular leg, he was controlling the rest of the contest.
That composure carried through the rest of the event. Littler went on to beat James Wade 18-13 in the final to win his first World Matchplay title, completing the Triple Crown in the process. The triumph made him the youngest World Matchplay winner in history and put him alongside Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries as the only players to have won the World Championship, Premier League and World Matchplay. In Blackpool, the nine-darter was the sharpest image of a player who had moved beyond sensation and into the role of dominant closer when the pressure was highest.
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