When Luke Littler arrived in Blackpool for the World Matchplay he made one thing clear: the outcome of this tournament would determine how the rest of his 2026 unfolded.
"The next nine days will decide if I go to the Players Championship Finals," Littler told Your Site on opening night.
"If I don't win this then I'm not going back to Minehead for the Players Championship Finals. If I do win this then I will have to go to some Pro Tours and try and get in there."
Littler has long talked about his hope of completing the clean sweep of majors in 2026, which hinged on a triumph in Blackpool. He completed that triumph and then some with a , setting a new record average in a final of 111.53.
He also broke his own record for the number of 180s hit across the tournament, improving his 64 in 2025 to 66 in 2026.
The victory in Blackpool saw Littler become only the fourth player in tournament history to win back-to-back titles, and the first in a decade to achieve the feat.
It was not just his performance in the final that astounded. He averaged over 109 against Niko Springer, backed that up with a 113 average plus a nine-darter against Nathan Aspinall, averaged 109 again against Josh Rock, then demolished Dirk van Duijvenbode to get into the big dance once again.
It was pure darting dominance.
Now, he has his sights set on racking up major after major to ensure not just that he holds them all, but he holds them all in one calendar year.
In 2026, he has won the World Darts Championship, UK Open, Premier League, Masters, and now the Matchplay.
So what is up next?
Well, instead of a holiday to Spain, he will head off to Leicester...
As part of the clean sweep, Littler will have to defend his Players Championship Finals win in Minehead at the end of November.
However, he has not yet qualified for that tournament.
Littler currently sits £22,500 off qualification and there are 10 Players Championship events remaining in 2026.
The world No 1 has ruled out heading to Hildesheim on July 28 and 29 which means his next opportunity to try and secure qualification will come on August 25 and 26 at Players Championship 27 and 28 in Leicester.
There are then two more events in Leicester on November 4 and 5 with Littler indicating that he is likely to use these four to try and qualify.
Based on 2025, plus factoring in the increased prize money, the projected cut-off looks to be around £30,000.
At each event, there is £15,000 on offer for a title, with £10,000 for the runner up and £6,500 for a semi-final.
Taking all that into account, it looks like Littler would need to win at least one final and make another final but there is a scenario in which he may need to win a couple of these events.
Of course, what other players achieve at the remaining 10 events all will get factored in but Littler will know at least one victory and a good run is required.
The next job on the list for Littler is the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam on September 17-20.
Littler came within one victory of retaining his title after losing out to Michael van Gerwen in Amsterdam in 2025.
The previous year he won the tournament by beating Michael Smith 11-4.
The next PDC-ranked TV major is the BoyleSports World Grand Prix from September 28 - October 4 at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester, live on Your Site.
Littler returns as defending champion after last year's victory over Luke Humphries in the double in, double out event.
By this stage, Littler will have attended two of his Players Championship events so will know how close he is to Minehead qualification.
There is also one major alluding Littler in his collection at the moment, the European Championship, which takes place on October 22-25 in Dortmund.
Gian van Veen stunned Humphries in a dramatic 11-10 victory to claim the first major trophy of his career in 2025.
Littler, meanwhile, bowed out at the last-16 stage in a 10-7 win over James Wade.
By the time Littler heads to Wolverhampton for the Grand Slam of Darts on November 14-22, live on Your Site, he will have had all his opportunities to qualify for the Players Championship Finals.
Littler went back-to-back at the Grand Slam with an imperious 16-11 win over Humphries.
Making it three in a row is the next requirement to continue his target.
If Littler has done what he needs to on the Pro Tour, then a trip to Minehead on November 27-29 is the penultimate piece of the puzzle.
Littler secured a win in 2025 with an 11-8 victory over Nathan Aspinall in the final.
If 'The Nuke' backs up at Minehead, after completing the ridiculous list above, then there is just one more task.
How Littler would love to make it three in a row on darts' biggest stage in order to complete the season haul and run into 2027 with back-to-back clean sweeps in his sights.
In 2025, he beat Van Gerwen. In 2026, he beat Van Veen.
If he were to cap off a spectacular year in the most spectacular of fashions, he would become the first person since Phil Taylor in 2006 to win the title three times on the spin.
"I have always said, I have got to win 16 Matchplays, 16 worlds, and then have a look at whatever else Phil Taylor did win," Littler said.
An unprecedented trophy haul would be a good start.
