Luke Littler drops major retirement hint after cancelling holiday to win World Matchplay

Luke Littler continued his dominance over the darting world with triumph in the World Matchplay, and he's already dropped a hint about his future in the sport - less than a week after winning another PDC major.

On Sunday, Littler won a second successive World Matchplay with an 18-9 victory over Gerwyn Price at the iconic Winter Gardens, as he continued his clean sweep of TV majors in 2026.

'The Nuke' was in unstoppable form all week in Blackpool, producing an eye-watering tournament average of 111.04 and breaking his own record for the most 180s at the tournament.

In fact, the closest he came to being threatened was in the first round against Germany's Niko Springer, when the pair went into the second break at 5-5 in a race to 10.

Littler ended up winning five of the final six legs to secure a 10-6 victory, and that set the tone for what was arguably his best performance in a professional setting.

Remarkably, since turning professional at the end of 2023, the 19-year-old has won 14 PDC majors to reign supreme in the sport.

The world No.1, who became the first darts player in history to pass £3 million on the two-year Order of Merit, has also racked up thousands of miles to play darts over the past two-and-a-half years.

That is one reason he has withdrawn from all of the Players Championship events in 2026 as he focuses on the bigger tournaments, although he could still qualify for the Players Championship finals by playing in the upcoming floor events.

Luke Littler hints at retirement after World Matchplay win

After winning his fifth PDC major of 2026, Littler confirmed that he had to cancel his holiday and also hinted at possible retirement in the future by stating, "I don't know how many years are left in me."

"The main goal was to win every major once, and yeah, I don't know how many years are left in me. We're still only two and a half years into my professional career and it's far from done," he told Oche180.

"We planned the holiday before the Matchplay, and we just said it is what it is, if we win or lose.

"Now we've got to make that commitment and go to Leicester and go to the Pro Tours."

Unlike every other darts player, Littler is a global phenomenon, earning celebrity status outside of the sport and securing partnerships with commercial brands such as Xbox and BoohooMan.

For that reason, many have questioned the teenager's longevity in darts, as he could comfortably retire and earn huge opportunities elsewhere.

Littler has previously shut down talk of retiring early as he wants to surpass Phil Taylor's record of 16 world titles, but others - including Glen Durrant - predict him to retire before he has a chance to break that record.

"No, because I don’t see longevity. I don’t see 16 world titles from Luke Littler," the former Premier League champion said.

"I think we’ve got him now for the next five, or hopefully 10 years, because he’s not a dart player anymore.

"He’s a personality; he’s someone who everybody knows in the UK, and I’m sure money will come into it. I don’t envisage me and you sat here talking here in 10 years and talking about Littler winning his sixth, seventh, eighth world title."

Durrant then told the fans to "enjoy him while we can" as the possibility of Littler quitting the sport early continues to be a major talking point.