Luke Littler's World Grand Prix title defence came to an abrupt end on the opening night in Leicester, but the defending champion took the shock 2-1 defeat to Luke Woodhouse in remarkably good humour. Littler, who had taken the first set, watched Woodhouse force a decider before completing the comeback with a two-dart 75 checkout on double 12. The result sent Woodhouse through to a second-round meeting with Nathan Aspinall, while Littler joined Michael van Gerwen among the early casualties on a dramatic Monday evening.
Neither player consistently found his best game, with Littler finishing with an average of 82.41, narrowly below Woodhouse's 82.51. The defending champion could not build on his early advantage as the challenger recovered from the missed opportunities that had cost him in the opening set. Littler posted his reaction on Instagram Stories shortly afterwards, tagging Woodhouse in a message that praised his opponent and wished him well for the remainder of the tournament. "Well played @lukewoody180, was a good game, good one to be a part of as well," Littler wrote. "Both hit, both missed but Luke took his chance." He added: "Nice week off now, all the best to Luke for rest of tournament."
It is a second successive tournament defeat for Littler following his loss to Jonny Clayton at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. In Leicester, his hopes of retaining the trophy disappeared after an opening set which had left Woodhouse angry at the opportunities he had missed. Speaking afterwards, Woodhouse admitted he felt Littler had given him an opportunity, even as he found himself a set behind. "I had chances to take the first set to a deciding leg, and when I didn't I was so angry with myself," he said. "I'm over the moon to beat someone like Luke on a main stage."
Woodhouse was quick to acknowledge the challenge posed by the short, double-start format when asked about the significance of beating Littler. The prospect of a title, however, remained firmly in his thoughts. "Winning tournaments is the biggest thing for me. I'm here to win tournaments." His next opportunity comes against Aspinall on Wednesday. Littler's departure leaves that section of the draw without the defending champion, while Ryan Joyce's comeback victory over Van Gerwen has also removed the tournament's six-time winner before the second half of the first round gets underway on Tuesday.
