Anderson and Littler shine as Humphries is stunned on the opening day of the Grand Slam

As Gary Anderson and Luke Littler put on outstanding performances in Wolverhampton, Rowby-John Rodriguez surprised the odds by defeating the defending champion Luke Humphries on the first day of the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts.

During a spectacular double session at WV Active Aldersley on Day One of the exclusive £650,000 event, 16 round-robin matches were played, and Rodriguez used some late magic to upset the world number one.

In the penultimate leg, Humphries saved his chances with a spectacular 164 skin-saver, but the Austrian responded with a magnificent 141 checkout to complete a historic 5-3 victory.

However, on Saturday’s action-packed day, Anderson and Littler stole the show, averaging 113 and 112 in victories over  Ryan Joyce and Keane Barry.

runner-up twice With a 5-1 thumping of Joyce, Anderson began his Group G battle with the sixth-highest average in Grand Slam history.

With a spectacular 121 checkout to start the match, the Scottish legend went on to win with an average of 113.2 after slaying legs of 14, 12, 13, and 13 darts.

“That wasn’t bad after 17 years [at the Grand Slam],” quipped Anderson, who will go head-to-head with his great rival Michael van Gerwen in a mouth-watering clash on Sunday evening.

“If my floor game comes on to the stage, there could be trouble, but what will be will be!

“I love this tournament, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It will be a good old tussle against Michael.”

In his opening match, three-time Grand Slam champion Van Gerwen defeated newcomer Noa-Lynn van Leuven handily, pinning five of his ten doubles tries.

A brilliant performance against Keane Barry on Saturday’s opening day saw Littler defeat the Irish kid in only six minutes and forty-eight seconds, average 112.16.

“I’ve been practising very well leading up to the Grand Slam, and I’m glad I played so well on my debut tonight,” reflected Littler – one of eight debutants in this year’s field.

“I felt good. It’s a short format so you’ve got to switch on. You have got to be on your A-game, and I was very focused tonight.”

Stephen Bunting and Gian van Veen both had outstanding outings in Group H, beginning their campaigns with thrilling victories over Wessel Nijman and Josh Rock, respectively.

Van Veen defeated 2023 quarterfinalist Rock 5-2 with an average of 110.79, converting 126 and 127 checkouts along with legs of 10, 11, and 12 darts.

On his Wolverhampton comeback, 2023 semi-finalist Bunting defeated Nijman in an exciting last-leg match, overcoming the Dutch debutant’s 106.51 average.

Having defeated Mensur Suljovic and Mike De Decker 5-2, Michael Smith and Jermaine Wattimena will square off for the top spot in Group E on Sunday.

2022 champion Smith defeated Suljovic with three consecutive legs, and Wattimena, a finalist at the European Championship, continued to play well, averaging 104.32 to defeat World Grand Prix champion De Decker.

In a match where both players averaged in the three digits, Mickey Mansell made his Grand Slam debut with a commanding 5-3 victory over three-time runner-up James Wade. He finished with an incredible 140.

In Wolverhampton, Martin Lukeman and Connor Scutt both had incredible debuts, defeating 2014 runner-up Dave Chisnall and three-time finalist Peter Wright in their respective ties.

After the 2023 runner-up started his title campaign with a resounding 5-2 victory over CDC Continental Cup winner Leonard Gates, Lukeman will now face Rob Cross in his second Group C match.

In contrast, Scutt averaged 104.38 to defeat Chisnall, earning him a matchup with Ritchie Edhouse, who in a duel of the European Champions also averaged 104 to defeat Ross Smith.

Danny Noppert defeated two-time Women’s World Matchplay champion Beau Greaves 5-2 earlier in the day to begin his sixth Grand Slam campaign.

After the Scottish star overcame German number one Martin Schindler by the same score in the second Group B match, Noppert will take on an in-form Cameron Menzies on Sunday afternoon.

In other news, PDC Asian Champion Lourence Ilagan’s careless performance was punished by UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won 5-1 to set up a match versus Littler on Sunday night.

2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts

Schedule of Play

Saturday November 9

Afternoon Session

Group Stage x8 – Groups B-C-D-H First Matches

Stephen Bunting 5-4 Wessel Nijman (H)

Gian van Veen 5-2 Josh Rock (H)

Connor Scutt 5-0 Dave Chisnall (D)

Danny Noppert 5-2 Beau Greaves (B)

Cameron Menzies 5-2 Martin Schindler (B)

Rob Cross 5-2 Leonard Gates (C)

Martin Lukeman 5-0 Peter Wright (C)

Ritchie Edhouse 5-1 Ross Smith (D)

Evening Session

Group Stage x8 – Groups A-E-F-G First Matches

Mickey Mansell 5-3 James Wade (A)

Gary Anderson 5-1 Ryan Joyce (G)

Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-1 Lourence Ilagan (F)

Michael Smith 5-2 Mensur Suljovic (E)

Michael van Gerwen 5-0 Noa-Lynn van Leuven (G)

Luke Littler 5-0 Keane Barry (F)

Rowby-John Rodriguez 5-3 Luke Humphries (A)

Jermaine Wattimena 5-2 Mike De Decker (E)

Sunday November 10

Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)

Group Stage x8 – Groups B-C-D-H Second Matches

Danny Noppert v Cameron Menzies (B)

Martin Schindler v Beau Greaves (B)

Peter Wright v Leonard Gates (C)

Rob Cross v Martin Lukeman (C)

Dave Chisnall v Ross Smith (D)

Ritchie Edhouse v Connor Scutt (D)

Josh Rock v Wessel Nijman (H)

Stephen Bunting v Gian van Veen (H)

 

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

Sunday November 10

8x Group Stage

Keane Barry v Lourence Ilagan (F)

Ryan Joyce v Noa-Lynn van Leuven (G)

Rowby-John Rodriguez v Mickey Mansell (A)

Mike De Decker v Mensur Suljovic (E)

James Wade v Luke Humphries (A)

Michael Smith v Jermaine Wattimena (E)

Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson (G)

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Luke Littler (F)