Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen out in World Grand Prix first round

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Littler, Van Gerwen dumped out on opening night of World Grand Prix
© Imago / Every Second Media

Luke Littler has lost to Luke Woodhouse on the opening night of the World Grand Prix.

The world number one had appeared on course to extend his winning streak in 2026 televised ranking events as he took the opening set.

Woodhouse looked overawed by the occasion as he struggled towards the end of that set, yet he would take six of the next nine legs to seal arguably the best win of his career.

Littler ended with an average of just 82.41 in the double-start format, while he hit just five 100+ scores in the final set as Woodhouse dominated the conclusion of the contest.

With Littler on 108, 37-year-old Woodhouse took out 75 in two darts to secure a 2-1 victory to set up a last-16 showdown with Nathan Aspinall.

 

Van Gerwen joins Littler in World Grand Prix exit

In the previous match, Michael van Gerwen also succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Ryan Joyce.

The Dutchman, now down at world number nine, defied some sharp finishing from his opponent to take the opener.

However, Van Gerwen missed 17 darts at a double across the next two sets, Joyce squandering just three darts at the outer ring during the same period.

While Van Gerwen, a six-time champion of this event, impressively averaged in excess of 90 across four legs in the decider, Joyce's consistency won out to set up a second-round meeting with Danny Noppert.

Van Gerwen is now at risk of dropping outside of the world's top 10 for the first time since 2012.

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