World Grand Prix Darts: Luke Littler in shock first-round exit as defending champion loses to Luke Woodhouse
World No 1 Luke Littler suffers shock 2-1 defeat to Luke Woodhouse on the opening night in Leicester as six-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also eliminated; watch day two of the World Grand Prix live on Sky Sports+ from 6pm, Tuesday
Tuesday 29 September 2026 00:13, UK
Defending champion Luke Littler suffered a shock first-round exit at the World Grand Prix as he lost out 2-1 to Luke Woodhouse in Leicester, on the same night that six-time winner Michael van Gerwen was also eliminated.
Littler won the first set, but was far from his best as Woodhouse spurned several chances at double to have taken the opener into a deciding leg.
Woodhouse made no mistake in sets two and three, however, to see him pull off one of the biggest upsets in the hostory of the double-in, double-out tournament.
He'll face former finalist Nathan Aspinall in the second round after he overcame Kevin Doets in a final-leg decider earlier on the opening night.
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Following his stunning early exit, Little posted on his Instagram: "Well played @lukewoodly180 was a good game, good one to be apart of aswell.
"Both hit, both missed but Luke took his chance and nice week off now, all the best to Luke for rest of tournament."
Littler followed that up by signalling his intent to now attend the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, which features his beloved Warrington Wolves - and would have clashed with the Grand Prix semi-finals.
"May aswell get myself to OT (Old Trafford) now I'm out. LETS GO THE WIRE @warringtonrlfc," Littler added.
Following his seismic victory over Littler, Woodhouse said afterwards: "Luke's not a robot. He's going to have days and weeks and whatever where he's not right on it.
"But look I think people have echoed it and I'm going to say it again, he's one of a kind Luke.
"I hope people will take the time to appreciate how good he is and not give him a hard time. You might not see another Luke Littler ever again."
Van Gerwen dumped out but Price, Clayton win
Elsewhere, not only were Van Gerwen's hopes of a seventh Grand Prix crown dashed but he suffered a third-straight first-round loss in the tournament as Ryan Joyce came back from a set down to defeat the Dutchman.
Welsh duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, winners of the Grand Prix in 2020 and 2021 respectively, also progressed, with Price putting in the performance of the night as he averaged 101.61 and dropped only one leg in beating Sebastian Bialecki.
Clayton was made to work much harder by Krzysztof Ratajski, one of six matches (out of eight) to go the distance on the opening night.
Cameron Menzies and Kevin Doets both missed match darts when losing out to Ross Smith and Aspinall, respectively.
Each had chances to wrap up two-set victories, but Menzies missed two looks at tops before Smith swept him aside 3-0 in the deciding set, while Doets spurned three match darts - including a wild miss at bullseye - and Aspinall would ultimately take it in a last-leg decider in the third set.
Danny Noppert came flying out of the blocks to open the night, claiming five consecutive legs before Niko Springer, out of nowhere, claimed the next three to take the second set, before normal service resumed in the third.
Wessel Nijman, meanwhile, rounded off the evening with a routine 2-0 victory over Rob Cross.
He'll face Clayton next, while Noppert takes on MVG conqueror Joyce and Price goes up against Smith, who revealed he almost pulled out of the World Grand Prix after being hospitalised in the week leading up to the tournament.
"I've had a week from hell," Smith said after his first-round victory. "I've come home and picked up some sort of virus and I've had a few issues with my heart as well.
"I was in hospital on Friday. I thought I was pulling out of this event on Saturday, so to be here is an achievement in itself. Let alone play and win like that, I'm very happy."
Monday's first-round results
First to two sets
- Danny Noppert 2-1 Niko Springer
- Ross Smith 2-1 Cameron Menzies
- Nathan Aspinall 2-1 Kevin Doets
- Jonny Clayton 2-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Gerwyn Price 2-0 Sebastian Bialecki
- Michael van Gerwen 1-2 Ryan Joyce
- Luke Littler 1-2 Luke Woodhouse
- Wessel Nijman 2-0 Rob Cross
Tuesday's first-round schedule
First to two sets
- Chris Dobey vs Jermaine Wattimena
- Ryan Searle vs William O'Connor
- Josh Rock vs Niels Zonneveld
- James Wade vs Joe Cullen
- Gary Anderson vs Damon Heta
- Gian van Veen vs Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Luke Humphries vs Dave Chisnall
- Stephen Bunting vs Andrew Gilding
The second round takes place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the quarter-finals on Friday, semi-finals on Saturday and final on Sunday.
Watch day two of the World Grand Prix live on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event from 6pm on Tuesday, with coverage every day up to and including the final on Sunday. Latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW
