If you want to see peak form, freeze Luke Littler in Blackpool. The 19-year-old did not so much retain the World Matchplay as run a finishing school, crushing Gerwyn Price 18-9 while using Phil Taylor's benchmarks as stepping stones. The box score is loud, but the method is the story.

Start with sustained weight. Over the week Littler averaged 111.04, a World Matchplay record that clears Taylor's 106.31 from 2010. In the final he went higher, 111.53, edging past Taylor's 111.23 in 2013. That is not a hot leg here and there, that is temperature control over a marathon. He added volume, 66 total 180s for another tournament best, and he salted the lot with precision, six ton-plus checkouts in the final alone. When the numbers bulge like that, it means the first visit sets the table and the clutch visit clears it.

Price scored heavily too, yet he kept being pushed into the role of passenger whenever Littler nailed an early treble and parked a tidy two-dart finish. The fourth leg drew the map. Littler ripped a 167 finish to grab momentum, then protected it by taking mini sessions even when the average dipped. The best peaks are less about fireworks, more about never gifting a breathable leg.

There is history in the retelling. Littler became only the fourth player to win back-to-back Matchplay titles, which reads as context as much as coronation. This is what dominance looks like in a sport that is measured to the decimal, repeatable action under hot lights producing repeatable outcomes.

Even the celebration had calculation. Post-match he said he will chase a calendar-year clean sweep of PDC ranked majors. To help that, he will skip a planned Spain trip and play Pro Tour events in Leicester to aid Players Championship Finals qualification. That is a mind moving pieces while the confetti is still falling.