Thursday, July 30, 2026
Column CM167
World Matchplay 2026 – Finals Day
The final day of the World Matchplay in Blackpool was cool, windy, and wet – it began with the Women’s World Matchplay and concluded with the World Matchplay final.
While the Women’s World Matchplay was a high-quality, exciting tournament, the World Matchplay final – though played at a very high standard- lacked real suspense. Both tournaments shared one thing in common: they were won by the pre-tournament favorite.
Eight women had qualified for the fifth edition of the Women’s World Matchplay: five English players, one Welsh player, one Finn, and one Swede. It was a somewhat international field, even though the English contingent clearly outnumbered the rest. It was evident from the start that the winner would hail from England – just like all previous champions- and there was a strong likelihood it would be either Beau Greaves or Fallon Sherrock.
Ultimately, Beau Greaves claimed the title for the third time, though the path to victory was not entirely smooth. She had no trouble defeating Kirsi Viinikainen 5-1 in the quarter-finals, playing simply too well for her opponent. However, the semi-final against Gemma Hayter revealed some struggles. Although Greaves scored well – she even had a chance at a nine-darter in the third leg – she experienced some double-trouble, whereas Gemma Hayter was quite clinical in that department. Greaves won 5-4 to reach the final, where she once again faced Fallon Sherrock.
The final was a closely contested affair, characterized by both strong scoring and a shared lack of accuracy on the doubles. Sherrock, who had boasted a checkout percentage of over 60 percent in her previous match against defending champion Lisa Ashton, saw that figure drop to 33 percent in the final. 
Greaves won the final by the same narrow 6-5 margin as the semi-final and will once again take the stage at the Grand Slam and the World Championship.
Sherrock meanwhile suffered a somewhat unlucky defeat in the final for the second year in a row, though she is clearly back in good form.
Debutant Vicky Pruim was the most clinical of the women on her doubles, boasting a success rate of 66.67 percent. She started very well but then dropped off significantly in her quarter-final against Gemma Hayter, ultimately losing 4-5. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by her performance.
That left only the World Matchplay final – a match with a rich history, ranging from the first tournament’s American winner, Larry Butler, to epic encounters like the 2018 final (which Gary Anderson won 21-19 against Mensur Suljovic) and Phil Taylor’s sixteen World Matchplay titles.
This year, unsurprisingly, we saw a rather one-sided and relatively short final in which Luke Littler played a lot of excellent legs- and a few incredible ones – even though his opponent, Gerwyn Price, also put in a genuinely strong performance.
For a time, Littler was averaging over 116 – at that moment, no player could have withstood that kind of play.
Eventually, however, Littler did seem to tire a bit, making a few errors and missing some doubles. But by then Price was no longer fresh either and couldn’t capitalize on his opponent’s dip in form. Price lost 9-18 despite averaging nearly 105. Perhaps he could have snatched a few more legs, but he stood no chance of beating Littler that evening.
The final was over quite quickly, and it was striking how fast the Empress Ballroom emptied out once the match had ended. A large crowd of fans had gathered outside the players’ entrance at the Winter Gardens, hoping to catch a glimpse of Littler or perhaps get an autograph.
I made my way through the crowd and headed back to my accommodation for the last time this year. All in all, I think it was a good tournament featuring surprising results, great performances, and dramatic matches – though the final itself was one of the less interesting matches. Even so, it will be remembered for Littler’s incredible legs.
