Defending champion Littler into UK Open semis

March 8, 2026 No Comments

Defending champion Littler into UK Open semisImage source, Kieran Cleeves/PDCImage caption, Luke Littler ended his quarter-final win with a three-dart average of 104.47ByPhil CartwrightBBC Sport journalistPublished48 minutes ago8 Comments

Defending champion Luke Littler beat 2022 winner Danny Noppert to reach the semi-finals of the UK Open in Minehead.

The two-time world champion and world number one, 19, trailed Dutchman Noppert 3-0 at the start of their best-of-19-legs quarter-final.

But Littler reeled off three straight legs in reply, led for the first time at 6-5 and eventually won 10-6 to reach the last four.

He went seven perfect darts into a potential nine-darter in the 15th leg, but then missed his attempt at treble 17.

Littler is aiming to become the first player to win back-to-back UK Open titles since Michael van Gerwen did so in 2015 and 2016.

Earlier, Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock beat Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski 10-7, while three-time UK Open champion James Wade was a 10-9 victor against 2018 world champion Rob Cross.

Cross fought back from 9-7 behind to force a deciding leg but fellow Englishman Wade, the runner-up to Littler in 2025, took out a 107 finish to secure a semi-final berth.

Jonny Clayton is facing Gerwyn Price in the last quarter-final and, should Clayton win that all-Welsh meeting, it would mean the same four players who reached last year’s semi-finals in Minehead make up the final-four line-up again in 2026.

The semi-finals and final will be played from 19:00 GMT, with a £120,000 first prize going to the tournament winner.