Remember When Luke Littler Offered James Wade Next Year’s UK Open?
Back in March, Luke Littler had just done it again. Same final. Same opponent. Same result.
The 19-year-old walked off the Minehead stage with another UK Open title, another £120,000 cheque, and a line that fans still talk about now.
He told James Wade he could have it next year.
That is the moment this one lives on. Not just the 11-7 scoreline. Not just the back-to-back trophy. The offer.
At the time, Littler had already thrashed Wade 11-2 in the 2025 final. Twelve months later, the rematch was tighter. Wade dragged it back to 6-6 and then 7-7. Littler was not at his fluent best. He still found a way, reeling off the last four legs after a 116 checkout that changed the night.
It made him the first player since Michael van Gerwen in 2015 and 2016 to defend the UK Open. Only the fourth man ever to go back-to-back, after Van Barneveld, Taylor and Van Gerwen.
Fans were already talking about the streak. Fifth major on the trot. Another final against Wade. Another night where The Machine stayed in it without ever quite looking like he would take it.
Then came the quote.
“That is what James does, he is always behind you and I said to him after the game that if he had hit those double tops then it is a completely different game,” Littler said.
“Me and James always have a good battle. I said ‘back-to-back, you can get me next year’.”
Another version of the exchange had him putting it even more bluntly: he had beaten Wade back-to-back, so Wade could have it the year after. Wade’s reply, at the time, was dry as ever. Something along the lines of only if he was still around.
That is why the clip stuck. It was not gloating. It was a kid who had grown up watching Wade, beating him twice in the same final, then handing him the next chapter with a grin.
Looking back, the context made it land even harder. Littler had to dig through Danny Noppert and Josh Rock just to get there. He admitted he was not happy with himself in the early rounds. Wade, for his part, said he had run out of energy and still left with £60,000 as runner-up.
The rivalry did not need inventing. Wade had already knocked Littler out of a major the previous autumn. Then Littler answered in two straight UK Open finals. One was a hiding. The second was a proper scrap. The offer after the second one turned it into a story fans still quote.
Today it reads like a snapshot of where both men were. Littler, 19, stacking majors and talking like the tournament already belonged to next year’s argument. Wade, a three-time champion, still close enough to make the kid work for it and still sharp enough to answer the joke.
It did not rewrite darts overnight. It did give the UK Open a neat little sequel hook and gave the Littler-Wade final a personality beyond the scoreboard.
That is why people still bring it up. Not because the result was a shock. Because after pocketing £120,000 and joining an exclusive list of retainers, Littler’s first instinct was to look at Wade and say, go on then, your turn next year.
Did you buy the offer at the time, or did you just laugh and assume he would be back in the final anyway?