Littler Shines in opening World Grand Prix match as Michael Van Gerwen suffers shock defeat

The double trouble continued in Leicester for night two of the BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix of darts as Michael Van Gerwen crashes out in straight sets after Luke Littler’s clinic.

The teenage sensation put on a fantastic display in a high-quality match against Deutchman, Gian Van Veen as fellow Dutch national, Van Gerwen, struggled in his match up against Dirk Van Duijvenbode as he falls to a surprise first-round defeat.

Luke Woodhouse’s firepower too much for Damon Heta in close opening affair

Night two at the Mattioli arena, Englishman Luke Woodhouse opened the night against the man from down under, Damon Heta.

World number thirty, Woodhouse, began in superb fashion – turning the first leg completely on its head with a 140 before checking out 113 with Heta left on just 58. This trend continued for the remainder of the first set, with Woody recording eight 100+ visits on his way to dominating the set 3-0.

Heta brought the heat in set two with an average of 109.98, returning the favour of a 3-0 set defeat to Woodhouse, levelling the score and setting up a blockbuster final set.

High scoring continued to be the key for Woodhouse, throwing five scores over 140 in the final set, including two 180s in the final leg, as he sealed the win in a dominating fifth leg. This defeat handed the Australian his fifth consecutive first round exit in the World Grand Prix.

Speaking in an interview after the win, Woodhouse said: “I want to win something.

“I’m not here to just make the numbers up.”

Littler lights up Leicester in impressive showdown with Gian Van Veen

Teenage phenom Luke Littler faced Dutchman Gian Van Veen in the youngest tournament pairing. Speaking ahead of the face-off with Van Veen, Littler said: “I don’t think I could have had a more difficult draw.”

This was soon backed up by Van Veen as the young Dutchman threw at an all-time tournament average of 106.47. Against many opponents, this power-scoring would simply be too much.

Not against The Nuke.

Littler struck at 105.58, whilst continuing to showcase his clinicality in his finishing.

Despite the fight from the young Dutch star, Littler continued to show his incredible ability to score consistently, winning the first set 3-2 before finding another gear in a whitewash second set in which he scored 140+ on seven occasions.

The teenager continues to impress and will be difficult to beat throughout the tournament as he focuses on the next round. Speaking after his stunning performance, Littler told Sky Sports: “I don’t think I could have done a lot better there.

“Hopefully this is my next major. First round done, onto the next one.”

The man awaiting him, last years’ champion – Mike De Decker, looking to retain his title in Leicester after a round of 32 victory against Peter Wright.

Former champions Darly Gurney and Jonny Clayton progress after dominant first round displays

Match two saw Daryl Gurney take on twelfth seed, Ross Smith. In what looked like it could be a challenging match for the Northern Irishman, Gurney dominated at the oche, despite averaging a modest 84.86. However, with a 66.67 checkout percentage, consistency was key for SuperChin – winning the match in straight sets.

World number six Jonny Clayton then took to the stage, taking on the 2023 UK Open champion – Andrew Gilding. Having lost the previous six meetings against Goldfinger, Clayton had a point to prove. Despite some serious show of character from Gilding, The Ferret had too much on the night, continuing into the next round with a straight set win. Clayton will now play unseeded Luke Woodhouse in the next round after his triumph against Damon Heta.

Riled up Gerwyn Price roars into the next round

Gerwyn Price faced a difficult task in Ryan Searle, who was coming off the back of a winning streak at the Players Championship, as he reached the semi-final.

Putting on a show as he stormed on stage, Gezzy was clearly up for the occasion, despite earlier telling Sky Sports: “I am not a fan of the format.” Although, the Welshman has previously won the title in 2020 and believes he, “Should probably have another [World Grand Prix].”

The first set was a massively one-sided affair, with Ryan Searle allowing Price just one chance at a checkout before taking it three legs to nil.

However, The Iceman came out fighting in the final two sets, battling hard to level the match at one set a piece, taking out 138 in the process. Price continued to go from strength to strength, averaging 99.40 in the final set to see off Searle despite a valiant effort from Heavy Metal.

Early exit for Mighty Mike in an all Dutch affair

With the world number one and two cruising through their first matches, it was down to Michael Van Gerwen to make it three from three. Standing in his way, another Deutchman in Dirk Van Duijvenbode.

The first set saw the latter of the two blow the former world number one out of the water, with Van Duijvenbode averaging 92.02 whilst obtaining a 100% checkout rate. Mighty Mike struggled to be clinical, missing five attempts at checkout, resulting in a dismal 3-0 demolition in the first set.

A comeback looked on the cards in the second set as both players struggled to checkout, however The Titan scored big when it mattered the most to overcome the resistance, dominating the Deutch tie to book a place in the next round against Daryl Gurney.

De Decker defeats Wright to keep title defence alive; Joyce unable to climb the mountain of Josh Rock

2024 World Grand Prix winner, Mike De Decker, took on experienced Scotsman Peter Wright looking to progress and keep his title defence ongoing. Snakebite saw more success in checkout percentage; however inconsistent scoring made it a difficult task against the Belgian. Averaging 91.41, The Real Deal showed real courage to overcome Peter Wright and progress into the next round.

The final match of the evening saw Josh Rock and Ryan Joyce play out a blockbuster tie, going down to the wire in a one leg shootout. Both players averaging slightly either side of 85, a moment of magic was needed to declare a winner. Level pegging down the final three darts, tied at one set and two legs a piece, both players were left with 108 in the deciding leg.

Josh Rock stepped up first and produced three deserving darts, nailing the checkout and releasing a huge celebration to the crowd watching on. A harsh feeling for Joyce as he exits the World Grand Prix first round after reaching the semi-final last year.

Littler Shines in opening World Grand Prix match as Michael Van Gerwen suffers shock defeat

2025 BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix

Schedule of Play –

Tuesday 7th October (1800 BST)

8x Round One matches

Damon Heta 1-2 Luke Woodhouse

Ross Smith 0-2 Daryl Gurney

Jonny Clayton 2-0 Andrew Gilding

Gerwyn Price 2-1 Ryan Searle

Luke Littler 2-0 Gian van Veen

Michael van Gerwen 0-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Peter Wright 1-2 Mike De Decker

Josh Rock 2-1 Ryan Joyce

Wednesday 8th October (1915 BST)

Cameron Menzies v Rob Cross

Stephen Bunting v Danny Noppert

Luke Humphries v Krzysztof Ratajski

Joe Cullen v Gary Anderson

Thursday 9th October (1915 BST)

Jonny Clayton v Luke Woodhouse

Dirk Van Duijvenbode v Daryl Gurney

Luke Littler v Mike De Decker

Gerwyn Price v Josh Rock

Author Jacob Johnson.