Luke Littler is in the final for the third time in his third World Cup participation. After just one set, hopes of a close semi-final against Ryan Searle are dashed. Littler is only annoyed about a “terrible dart”.
Both had so far just breezed through the Darts World Cup. Both had the same impressive record before their meeting – both had won 19 sets and lost only two. So there were good arguments for the chance of a close World Cup semi-final between Ryan Searle and Luke Littler, the world number one. Hope lasted exactly one sentence. Searle was able to secure the start 1-0, but then the world number one won six sets in a row. In the end there was a 6-1 win that was never in danger.
It is Littler’s third World Cup final in his third participation in the most important tournament in darts. He only lost once at Alexandra Palace: in the 2024 World Cup final, Littler lost 4:7 to Luke Humphries.
Against Searle, Littler initially faced a new challenge. He is not considered a good starter in a game, but has not been penalized for it so far at this World Cup. Unlike Searle, who grabbed the first set despite an average ten points worse. Littler played a ten-darter, but couldn’t keep up with the scoring in the decisive fifth leg of the set. His English compatriot Searle even scored one goal in Single-1 and one in Triple-1. Littler shook his head as he walked off stage.
The audience played no role in this reaction. In the round of 16 against Rob Cross, Littler was booed and then verbally attacked the fans (“Thanks for my money. Thank you for booing me.”). There had already been a small reconciliation the day before in the 5-0 win in the quarter-finals against Krzysztof Ratajski. After brief boos for the walk-on, the Ally Pally chanted the world champion’s name several times during the game.
It was similar against Searle. Once again there were boos during the run-in and individual whistles as Littler preferred to line up for a double instead of throwing to the bullseye for the show – plus a few Ryan Searle chants. But Littler was also sung about at times.
Criticism from van der Voort of Littler
The topic of Littler and the fans still doesn’t seem completely out of the world. Criticism of the 18-year-old’s handling of the audience came from former Dutch professional Vincent van der Voort. “It’s not wise to treat the fans like that. It wasn’t the happiest moment of his career,” he said on the “Darts Draait” podcast about the appearance after the cross game. “He really has to be careful. There are two things you can’t win against in your career: the press and the audience.”
This time Littler had somewhat positive words to the audience after the victory. “A few boos, a few cheers. But they were good. A good crowd,” he said on Sky Sports.
His victory is quickly told after the set was equalized at 1:1. In the third set, Searle had another chance to take the lead, but started the decider at exactly the wrong moment with a score of 15 points. Littler punished the mistake and broke to take the set lead 2-1. From now on, the 18-year-old played practically alone, at times winning eleven legs in a row to take a 5-1 lead. Littler seemed significantly more focused than in the previous rounds and used his sometimes wild-looking gestures much more sparingly. It seemed like he just wanted to do his job.
And he did it easily. Littler averaged over a hundred points, Searle only managed an average of just over 90 points. At least there was one highlight in the seventh movement, “Heavy Metal”. Out of nowhere he checked the Big Fish, the highest finish in darts with 170 points. It was also the end of Littler’s eleven-leg streak.
Littler had just missed the perfect leg with seven perfect darts. The seventh dart was crooked in the triple 20, so the eighth dart no longer fit there. “Terrible darts. I should have gone to triple 18 for double 15. There’s still one game left. I think they’re here (the audience, editor) who want £60,000 more than me. “I’ll try again tomorrow,” said Littler. For a nine-darter, both the player and a random spectator in the audience will be awarded £60,000. A further £60,000 will go to a charity campaign.
Littler still took the set and won the game. “A dismantling of Ryan Searle,” ex-professional Mark Webster analyzed on English TV. “This semi-final was all about Luke Littler.”
The path to the final must have felt almost too easy for Littler. Big names like Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting, who Littler could actually have met, had already left the tournament in large numbers. The best-placed opponent so far has been Cross, number 17 in the world before the tournament. Another house number is now waiting in the final: Gian van Veen, who is ranked tenth. “I have every right to think that I can defend the title. But I would never say that I will definitely win,” Littler said at the press conference.
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For Searle, the World Cup is still a great success. Not only did he jump to seventh place in the world rankings, but he was also able to convey important messages. He suffers from a complicated eye disease and had addressed emotional words to everyone affected the day before after his win against Jonny Clayton. “Obviously I can’t see very well: Don’t let yourself be stopped! I want to be an inspiration to these people,” he said. Searle suffers from autosomal dominant optic atrophy, in which the optic nerve is damaged over time and vision deteriorates as a result.
The organizers had come up with a special event for Friday evening. The 180 signs handed out to fans in the Ally Pally hall have been blurred out as a show of support. “A big shoutout to Paddy Power,” said Littler, praising the sponsor’s campaign.
Darts World Cup 2026, semi-final results
Luke Littler (ENG/1) – Ryan Searle (ENG/20) 6:1
Gian van Veen (NED/10) – Gary Anderson (SCO/14) 6:3
Luca Wiecek is sports editor for WELT. He reported for four days at this Darts World Cup from Alexandra Palace in London.
