Price loses World Series final after Clayton ends Littler's clean sweep

Wales supplied half of the last four at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, but the trophy went to Ross Smith. Smith beat Gerwyn Price 11-5 in Sunday's final after Price had defeated Jonny Clayton 11-7 in an all-Welsh semi-final. The weekend also carried one of Clayton's biggest results of the year: a 10-4 quarter-final win over Luke Littler that ended Littler's attempt to complete a clean sweep of the PDC's Premier events in 2026.

Six legs decide the final

Price stayed with Smith through the first ten legs and levelled the final at 5-5 with an 11-dart leg. The match then broke sharply. Smith checked out 123 and 127 in successive legs and won six in a row to take the title. The PDC recorded 11 maximums and an average of almost 104 for Smith. Price said afterwards that Smith had taken his chances and the Welshman was disappointed with his own display.

Price's best darts came before the final

Price had produced the stronger numbers earlier in the day. He averaged 103.86, finished 170 and won the final four legs against James Wade to turn the Price-Wade quarter-final into a 10-7 victory. Against Clayton, Price won six of the final seven legs and averaged above 104. That carried him into a second Premier-event final of 2026, but he could not reproduce it against Smith.

Clayton stops Littler

Clayton's route through the draw began with a 6-3 win over Maik Kuivenhoven and a 10-8 victory over Motomu Sakai. His 10-4 defeat of Littler was the result of the quarter-finals. The PDC said it was Littler's first Premier-event loss in 330 days. Clayton then led Price 6-5 in the semi-final before Price took six of the next seven legs.

The Welsh route through Amsterdam

Price won four matches before the final: 6-4 against Brody Klinge, 10-5 against Jim Long, 10-7 against Wade and 11-7 against Clayton. Clayton won three: 6-3 against Kuivenhoven, 10-8 against Sakai and 10-4 against Littler. Two Welsh players in the semi-finals made this more than a runner-up finish. Wales held two of the tournament's final four places, and Clayton delivered the result that stopped the year's dominant player completing a rare sweep.