Reigning World Matchplay champion Luke Littler takes on Josh Rock in the quarter-finals of the 2026 edition and our resident darts expert Keith Deller has provided an enticing Bet Builder.
'The Nuke' scored a remarkable 113.68 three-dart average to beat Nathan Aspinall last time out, most notably recording a nine-dart finish in the very first leg of the contest. In notching the perfect leg, he became just the second player -- after Phil Taylor -- to hit two nine-darters at the World Matchplay.
Josh Rock couldn't contain his emotions after defeating Stephen Bunting -- one of his best friends on tour -- in the second round, admitting that he had to change his mindset to face 'The Bullet' like any other any opponent.
It was a dominant performance from the Northern Irishman, winning 11-6 with an average of 91.18, but you get the sense that he'll have to up his game to overcome Littler.
Check out Deller's 16/1 Bet Builder for the eagerly anticipated quarter-final contest between Littler and Rock below...
Luke Littler v Josh Rock Bet Builder
- Match Winner: Luke Littler
- Most 180s: Luke Littler
- Highest Checkout 3-Way: Luke Littler
- Over 24.5 Legs
- 170 Finish in Match: Yes
Littler has won all of his last nine matchups against Rock, and so it's hard to see a world in which the world number one doesn't come out on top.
Few get the better of 'The Nuke' in shorter games, let alone in a best of 31 legs format, and I fancy the Warrington-born sensation to find his rhythm relatively early after a scintillating display against 'The Asp'.
Concurrent with my first selection of Littler to win, I'm also backing him to record the most 180s.
Littler has thrown an unrivalled 21 maximums so far at the tournament -- 14 of which came in his 11-8 victory over Aspinall -- and I expect him to be as prolific from the oche in Blackpool on Thursday night.
After registering a nine-dart finish last time out, 'The Nuke' will be looking to reel in the 'Big Fish' against Rock. I fancy Littler to checkout 170 and therefore take out the highest score in the match, with both selections included in my Bet Builder.
While I expect Littler to dominate all the metrics and ultimately win the match, I do think Rock will take at least nine legs off the world number one.
These two have had some intense matchups in recent years -- including Littler's 17-14 victory over Rock in the semi-finals of the 2025 World Matchplay -- and the Northern Irishman will be desperate to hang on in there in the quarter-finals.
To conclude my 16/1 Bet Builder, I'm backing over 24.5 legs.
All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
