Littler Fires a Matchplay Warning with Searle Smashing on Day 2 at the Winter Gardens

In stark contrast to Sunday afternoon’s surprises, all four seeds booked their place in the last 16 on Day 2 at the Winter Gardens. Gary Anderson overcame a sluggish start to pull away from Luke Woodhouse, Jonny Clayton fended off a spirited challenge from Martin Schindler, and Stephen Bunting survived a scare against Ryan Joyce. But the night belonged to Luke Littler, who briefly flirted with the all-time Matchplay average in a sensational dismantling of Ryan Searle.

Let’s take a closer look at the evening’s action…

Luke Littler celebrating in his victory over Ryan Searle on the Winter Gardens stage   (Photo by: John Walton/PA)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (13) Gary Anderson 10 - 5 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luke Woodhouse

Woodhouse made a dream start, producing back-to-back 15-dart legs, including a showpiece 167 finish to go 2–0 ahead, followed by a big celebration. That fired Anderson into action, as the Scotsman reeled off the next three legs without reply. Woodhouse had no shot at double during that spell and trailed 3–2 at the first interval.

The two legs following the break were both breaks of throw, with each player squandering chances to hold, leaving Anderson narrowly ahead at 4–3. ‘Woody’ then produced a magnificent 12-dart hold to level at 4–4, before Anderson replied with a 14-darter to edge back in front. Woodhouse stuck with him, though, holding brilliantly in 13 darts to level again at 5–5 heading into the second interval.

After the break, it was one-way traffic for the ‘Flying Scotsman’. Anderson reeled off five consecutive legs to steamroll Woodhouse, who had just one dart at the bull to win a leg in that spell. In the end, he was well beaten. Anderson went through the gears, finishing clinically, while Woodhouse simply couldn’t keep up.

Match Stats:

Anderson: 98.02 average | 180s: 2 | 66.67% on Doubles (10/15)

Woodhouse: 94.11 average | 180s: 6 | 41.67% on Doubles (5/12)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (5) Jonny Clayton 10 - 7 🇩🇪 Martin Schindler

It was ‘The Ferret’ who flew out of the traps in this contest. Clayton stormed into a 3–0 lead with a 12-dart break, 13-dart hold, and 15-dart break, firing in four maximums along the way. Schindler hit back with an excellent 12-dart break of his own, letting out a roar to get on the board at 3–1. But Clayton responded immediately, sealing the session with another break in 13 darts to take a 4–1 lead into the first interval.

The next four legs were routine holds, leaving Clayton 6–3 up and in control. But just before the second interval, The Wall landed a crucial blow, pinning a clinical 88 checkout for a brilliant 11-dart break to close the gap to 6–4, again firing up the crowd with a roar to show he was still in the fight.

Schindler then missed a dart at double 18 to reduce the deficit to just one, and Clayton punished with a 64 checkout in two darts to go 7–4 ahead. He then followed it up with a solid 17-dart hold to stretch the lead to 8–4. Schindler responded well with a 13-dart hold, but Clayton landed a stunning 108 finish to restore a four-leg cushion at 9–5.

Clayton missed a match dart at the bull for 10–5, and Schindler capitalised by pinning double 6. He then produced a superb 14-dart break to make it 9–7, showing the Welshman he wasn’t going down without a fight.

In leg 17, Schindler narrowly missed double 6 to hold and keep the contest alive. Clayton then missed more match darts but eventually found a tricky double 5, last dart in hand, to sneak over the line and book his spot in the last 16.

Match Stats:

Clayton: 99.60 average | 180s: 8 | 41.67% on Doubles (10/24)

Schindler: 103.45 average | 180s: 6 | 50% on Doubles (7/14)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (2) Luke Littler 10 - 2 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ryan Searle

A spellbinding opening five legs from The Nuke saw him storm into a 5–0 lead. He opened with a 12-dart break, finishing 84 on the bull, followed by another 12-darter with a superb 126 checkout. That was backed up by a 13-dart break, an 11-dart hold, and a 14-dart break to complete a dominant first session. Littler averaged a staggering 122+ during this spell, while Searle, to his credit, carved out four darts at double across legs 3 and 5 but couldn’t convert, despite averaging 106 himself.

Littler continued his charge with a 15-dart hold, taking out 102 for 6–0, before Searle finally stopped the rot with a 16-dart hold, offering a sarcastic celebration and a relieved smile to get on the board. Littler was unrelenting, though, firing in an 11-dart hold and a 15-dart break to stretch the lead to 8–1. He surprisingly missed two darts to go 9–1 at the second interval, and Searle punished with a clean double top to reduce the deficit to 8–2.

After the break, Searle made a costly mistake, missing the single 16 to give himself a dart at double, and Littler pounced, finding two double 8s to move 9–2 ahead. He then ruthlessly sealed the win with a magnificent 13-dart hold to complete a dominant display for his first victory on the Blackpool stage.

Match Stats:

Littler: 108.92 average | 180s: 5 | 52.63% on Doubles (10/19)

Searle: 98.63 average | 180s: 3 | 33.33% on Doubles (2/6)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (4) Stephen Bunting 10 - 8 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ryan Joyce

A scrappy 23-dart hold from Joyce to open the match set the tone for an underwhelming opening mini-session. Bunting responded by winning three legs on the bounce, holding in 17 and 14 darts, either side of an 18-dart break to lead 3–1. Joyce stayed in touch with a superb 116 checkout to hold and cut the gap to 3–2.

Both players missed multiple darts at double in leg six before Bunting edged ahead 4–2, but Joyce responded with a brilliant 12-dart hold to make it 4–3, and then broke in 15 darts to level at 4–4. ‘The Bullet’ struck back instantly with a 15-dart break, then found a stunning 10-dart leg to take a 6–4 lead into the second interval.

Bunting continued to apply pressure after the break, reeling off back-to-back 14-darters to stretch his lead to 8–4. But Joyce, true to his ‘Relentless’ nickname, refused to go quietly. He held in 12 darts, broke in 17, held again in 12, and broke once more in 14, a superb four-leg burst that levelled the match at 8–8 and handed the throw back to Joyce, with Bunting’s doubling starting to falter.

But there was one final twist. Joyce narrowly missed double 5 for an 89 checkout that would’ve put him one leg from victory. Bunting stepped up and took out 56 with his last dart in hand to break and go 9–8 in front. The final leg was one-way traffic. Bunting fired in two maximums in a ruthless 11-dart hold to seal victory in a tense and testing battle.

Match Stats:

Bunting: 98.00 average | 180s: 10 | 35.71% on Doubles (10/28)

Joyce: 93.71 average | 180s: 4 | 44.44% on Doubles (8/18)