Price claims rivals are making life “too easy” for Littler

GERWYN PRICE reckons rivals are making life “too easy” for Luke Littler.

The world No7 believes opponents often allow Littler to settle into his relentless rhythm and insists he is one of the few capable of living with the teen sensation over a long-format contest.

Price, 41, stormed into his FOURTH consecutive major semi-final after beating Ross Smith 16-12 with a superb 102.78 average at the Winter Gardens.

The Welshman believes he has what it takes to derail Littler's bid for back-to-back World Matchplay titles, although both players must first overcome their respective hurdles.

Price will face Gian van Veen in the last four and heads into the clash having won four of their previous five meetings.

He said: “I think there's a lot of players that can get to that [Littler's] level.

“Is there anyone who can do it as long as him? I think I can and I think there's a couple of players, but he's ruthless at the minute. These 109, 110 averages just look so easy for him.

“I think some players play into his hand and just let him play with his rhythm. It's horses for courses and sometimes you have to play your game, you have to play the game and you have to play the moments.

“Sometimes, people make it a little bit too easy for him.”

Price has found Littler a difficult obstacle this season, losing all of their Premier League meetings and suffering a deciding-set defeat in the semi-finals of the World Masters.

Littler has also been virtually untouchable in the longer format, remaining unbeaten in TV matches played over 20 legs since his defeat in the 2024 World Championship final.

But ‘The Iceman’ believes his own form is building at the perfect time, with his run in Blackpool restoring confidence after a stop-start season.

He added: "I think there have been ten European Tour events and I've only played in three or four. I won one, reached another final and lost to Cameron, who played fantastic against me.

"I just haven't played enough this year and I think that's caught up with me a little bit.

“You saw that in the first round here. If I'd played a couple more ProTours before the tournament I'd have been much sharper.

"Next year I'll play a lot more, but when you're playing the Premier League and the World Series, you simply can't play everything.

"This tournament has been great for my confidence. Like I said, I haven't played that much this year, but this has put me in the right frame of mind for the rest of the season."

Words: Aaron Nijjar

Image: Taylor Lanning