World Matchplay 2026: How hard is it for Luke Littler to join Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor in a return to the Winter Garden? | Darts News

The World Matchplay was a tournament dominated by Phil Taylor – from 1994 to 2014 – he won 15 of a possible 21 in Blackpool. Yes, you read that correctly

Taylor has been in control of the Winter Garden for nearly two decades, which looks like light work.

He dominated the Blackpool stage and it seemed as if defending the title in such a tournament was an easy task. He was so dominant that the trophy was named after him after he retired.

Then, along came Michael van Gerwen who continued the trend.

The Dutchman dominated matchplay in 2015 and 2016, beating James Wade and then doubling Taylor on the beach.

MVG’s accolades at these two tournaments have been incredibly read.

Going into 2015 Matchplay, he won the World Grand Prix, European Championship, Masters and UK Open crowns.

Then, going into the 2016 Matchplay, he captured the World Matchplay, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Final, Masters, UK Open and Premier League titles.

He was world number one both times and won a ridiculous 11 out of 18 Euro Tour events across 2015 and 2016.

While matchplay dominance looked a sure thing, it was a trend that was quickly bucked as Van Gerwen managed it only once despite his dominance in the late 2010s and Luke Humphries failed at the first hurdle, a flurry of winners with the gap between the top two players.

The reigning champion is World No. 1 Luke Littler who also boasts World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Final, World Championship, World Masters, UK Open, Premier League and World Cup titles.

Similarly to Littler, van Gerwen was untouchable as the best player in the world. His one downfall? He did not win the World Darts Championship in 2015 or 2016 before triumphing again in 2017.

Littler has won the last two world championships and is now looking to become the first player in a decade to retain the matchplay title and tick off another bit of history.

How the matchplay goes literally determines the course of Littler’s year. If he holds on, he will continue to aim for a clean sweep. Did he fail? Then the number of tournaments he enters for the rest of 2026 changes drastically.

Van Gerwen did what Littler did not when claiming the World Darts Championship two years in a row.

“If I could choose, I would swap all the other tournaments I’ve won for this one. It’s the most important and I’m going to try and get my title back, but the standard is so high that you can’t make any mistakes,” Van Gerwen said ahead of the World Cup in November 2015.

Littler won’t have to swap any silverware for the Sid Waddell Trophy as he retains the crown.

Now is the time to show he can do it again on the matchplay stage.

Will a win in the matchplay secure Minehead’s title defense?

Sky Sports News’ Michael Bridges…

“He’ll be on the ball, no doubt. He hasn’t played much lately, he’s obviously been in America for the World Series, he’s been doing a lot of PR events, but we know he’s not going to be part of the Eurotour at the moment.

“There’s still a question mark over whether he’ll make a Pro Tour at all. I think if he wins the matchplay he might change his mind because he’ll want to win it all.”

“I know people in his team are denying it, but I think he will go for it if the matchplay is won.

“We know Luke, we know that when there’s a goal, he’s incredibly driven.

“I had a suggestion that it was too late for him to go to Minehead, but of course there is time. Plenty of time.

“But if he wins it, I think it might force him to go to Minehead.”

When is World Matchplay Live on Sky Sports?

World Matchplay begins on Saturday 18 July and ends on Sunday 26 July.

All nine days of the program will be shown Live on Sky Sportswith opening day coverage on Sky Sports+ at 7pm Didn’t get the sky? Get instant access now