Luke Littler really 'annoyed' dart rival for key reason during World Matchplay

Luke Littler has come under criticism from Dirk van Duijvenbode after securing another dominant triumph at the World Matchplay.

Littler continued his clean sweep of majors in 2026 with an 18-9 victory over Gerwyn Price in Sunday's final, becoming the latest player to succumb to his brilliance.

The 19-year-old produced arguably the best darts of his career across the eight days, as his scoring reached unstoppable levels at the Winter Gardens.

He blew away Price in the final with an average of 111.57, and that was a touch above his staggering tournament average of 111.04.

That puts 'The Nuke' second in the all-time list, with Phil Taylor's tournament average of 111.54 at the 2009 European Championship currently out in front.

Remarkably, Littler's relentless scoring and laser-eyed accuracy on the treble 20 saw him average over 109 in every match, powering past Niko Springer, Nathan Aspinall, Josh Rock, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Price.

Van Duijvenbode was on the receiving end of his brilliance in the semi-final, as he was destroyed 17-5 by the teenager.

The Dutchman did well to reach a major semi-final after recording impressive victories over Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson.

But the 34-year-old was brought down to earth by Littler's ruthless scoring, which included 16 180s, and has since spoken about his experience at the tournament.

In his semi-final showdown against the teenager, Van Duijvenbode could only acknowledge his unstoppable performance, but he was "annoyed" that all the attention was directed at his opponent before the match.

"That annoyed me. As far as I know, I’m in the semi-final too, and that’s more special than him being there. The fact he’s throwing well isn’t strange either. And then the questions are still about him,” he fumed.

Arriving at the World Matchplay as world No.29, Van Duijvenbode felt he deserved more recognition for making the last four of the tournament after an inconsistent year.

'The Titan' last reached the last four of a major at the Players Championship Finals in 2024 and has since risen to 23rd in the world after making the semi-finals in Blackpool.

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Dirk van Duijvenbode also 'annoyed' at how good Luke Littler is

Under any normal circumstances, players will believe they can win a game, even after falling far behind in legs.

But when even the best professionals come against Littler, belief soon fades when the Warrington-born superstar is rattling off legs in quick succession.

Van Duijvenbode went 7-1 behind against Littler in a matter of minutes, and by then, he accepted that defeat was the only inevitable outcome.

"It makes no sense at all," he admitted. "You turn around, and he hits another 180. At first you’re annoyed, because whether you lose big or not, I also just didn’t play great. But yeah, whether you lose 17-15 or 17-5, who cares! You’ve lost, and you can go home.”

Arguably every player on the planet would have succumbed to the same fate as Van Duijvenbode, but the Dutchman does believe he is completely different off stage compared to during a match.

"He doesn’t intimidate me at all as a person, because he’s a very kind and calm lad, but at the oche he’s very good,” he continued.

Van Duijvenbode was back in action at the Players Championship 25 in Hildesheim on Tuesday, but suffered a shock first-round defeat to Sietse Lap.