Littler loses to Clayton in World Series Finals quarter-final — Sky Sports News
World No. 1 Luke Littler lost 4:10 to Welshman Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The defeat ended his bid to win all major PDC titles in 2026, Sky Sports News reports.
Littler's title run
Littler won six major tournaments this season: the World Championship, World Masters, UK Open, Premier League, World Cup of Darts and World Matchplay. He won the World Cup alongside Luke Humphries.
The darts player had also hoped to win the World Series of Darts Finals, World Grand Prix, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals. The World Series of Darts Finals, like the Premier League and World Cup, is not a ranking tournament. However, Littler can still win all four remaining ranking majors this year.
Semi-final matchups
After beating Littler, Clayton will face his fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final, England's Ross Smith will meet Dutchman Gian van Veen. In the quarter-finals, Smith beat Josh Rock 10:7, van Veen defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode 10:8, and Price overcame James Wade 10:7.
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In the previous rounds, Littler came back from 1:3 down against Danny Noppert to win 6:4. In the round of 16, he beat Nathan Aspinall in the final leg, 10:9. Littler won the World Series of Darts Finals in 2024, while last year he lost to Michael van Gerwen in the final.
Upcoming tournaments
Littler's next major will be the World Grand Prix in Leicester, taking place from September 28 to October 4. The European Championship in Dortmund, the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton and the Players Championship Finals in Minehead are also scheduled this year.
To qualify for the Players Championship Finals, Littler needs to improve his position in the Players Championship series. He is ranked 125th in its Order of Merit, with six tournaments remaining in the regular season. The top 64 players will qualify for the final tournament in Somerset.
