Luke Woodhouse pulled off a massive upset at the World Grand Prix, battling back from a set down to defeat world number one Luke Littler 2-1. The Englishman dug deep after dropping the opening set, and the victory was not only a win over the world's best player but also proof that he can now put setbacks in big matches behind him.
Speaking to DartsNews.com immediately after the match, Woodhouse was visibly struggling to find the words. "Yeah, it's very difficult to sum up," he said. "It's a mix of emotions. I thought I sort of threw it away the first set. Not throwing it away, but I had chances to take the first set to the deciding leg, and when I didn't, I was so angry with myself from the start." That frustration stemmed from the feeling there was something there to be taken. Littler was not at the level that so often leaves opponents without a chance, and Woodhouse knew he could not let that opportunity pass. "And I sort of felt that he wasn't flying on all gears, so I just thought, 'Don't, please don't go out and lose two sets when he's not playing well or not sort of firing on all cylinders.' So, yeah, it's a relief. I'm over the moon to beat someone like Luke on a main stage."
Woodhouse already has ranking titles to his name, but a win over Littler at a TV event naturally stands out. Still, he did not want to inflate this result above his previous tournament victories. "No, winning tournaments is the biggest thing for me. I'm here to win tournaments," he stressed. "It's absolutely fantastic. Luke's going to go down as one of the all-time greats, if not already. It's amazing to beat someone of Luke's stature." At the same time, Woodhouse put his shock win into context. "But I'm not naive to the fact that it's a very short format. You've got to get out of the blocks quick—double in, double out as well—so I'm not naive to that at all. I mean, it's up there, but winning tournaments is what I'm in for."
That is exactly where Woodhouse still sees a key step to take. He has shown his level on the ProTour and European Tour, but his real breakthrough on the biggest TV stages has yet to come. "So I spoke to someone the other week about something, and look, it's lovely winning ProTours. EuroTours are sort of mini stage majors and whatever, but I don't think I've really covered myself in glory on a main TV stage, so that's my sort of thing. I don't enter tournaments for the sake of it. I'm here to win tournaments, so that's my go-to. I'll give my all the next round, and hopefully I can beat Nathan on Wednesday."
Woodhouse wants to ensure the win over Littler is not the end of the road. In the past, players have often knocked out the dominant force of the moment only to exit a round later. He is not dwelling on that scenario. "Not really. I'll be honest with you, I don't really overthink it. I try not to overthink it too much. I'll just turn up Wednesday, and we'll see how it goes. Look, Nathan's more than capable of getting up there and averaging over a tonne, double in, double out, and putting me to bed. But I'm capable as well, so it should be a good game."
Strikingly, Woodhouse used his moment of glory to defend Littler. The world star had also just lost to Jonny Clayton, but Woodhouse saw no reason to suggest any deeper vulnerability. "I'll be honest, I didn't watch any of it last weekend, so I'm not sure. I've seen that he didn't win, and he lost to Jonny." Woodhouse then made a clear plea to darts fans. "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. So I hope people will take the time to appreciate how good he is and not give him a hard time and really stick behind him. You might not see another Luke Littler ever again."
Woodhouse could not explain why Littler sometimes gets criticized. He did point to the impact the young Englishman has had on the sport. "I don't know, but he's done for the game. What Phil and Michael Van Gerwen and Raymond and Gary and all of them have done for the game, and he's taken it to the next level. So I just hope people get behind him, give him the support, and appreciate what a top talent he is. Yeah, okay. He wasn't on it tonight, and last week he lost, but he's going to win so much more stuff."
For Woodhouse, the turnaround after the opening set was perhaps the most telling part of the night. During the short break he had to give himself a stern talking-to. "I can't say what I was saying. I mean, it wasn't very good. I was just feeling; I was more feeling the fact that I thought I'd go up and just be like, 'Not settled,' but I would, but I would feel like I have been the last sort of two or three months, and I felt so edgy and nervous. But when you feel so edgy, I don't know, it just, it just, it just didn't feel right." The way Woodhouse fought back after a frustrating first set, he sees as proof of his development. "I mean, I think it shows my sort of progress and my maturity in the game that I am now able to sort of turn disappointments around. and keep my head in, and yeah, get the result and work at it. Not every player ever won something or did something that's been like, all guns blazing. Sometimes it's working hard and grinding results out."
When the draw paired Woodhouse with Littler, fear didn't dominate. On the contrary, he saw it as a chance that might not come around often. "With it being such a short format, I think everyone should relish it as an opportunity to play the best player in the world. You might only get one chance at doing that. I'm sure tennis players have played Djokovic and Nadal and all that and go, If I can beat him, what a story that would be. I think someone put something on Twitter saying, 'I bet Luke's gutted about that draw,' crying about the draw. I was like, do you know what? I'm really looking forward to playing him. Not every day you get a chance at the best player in the world." Woodhouse finished with a smile when asked whether the rest of the field would thank him for knocking out Littler. "I don't know because they've got to play me, so who knows?"
