Three-time world champion John Lowe has leapt to the defence of Luke Littler following his shock opening-round exit at the World Grand Prix, insisting that successive tournament defeats are nothing more than a normal setback for a superstar. Littler's title defence in Leicester ended with a 2-1 loss to Luke Woodhouse, just days after a 10-4 quarter-final defeat to Jonny Clayton at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.
"Interesting, Luke Littler loses again, two in a row. Wow, no big deal," Lowe wrote on Facebook. "All superstars have blips. Luke is in that bracket." The legendary three-time world champion added: "When you set the bar high, then others reach for it. If you have an off day, or two, it's inevitable you make big news." Littler averaged 82.41 against Woodhouse, taking the opening set before losing the next two, with Woodhouse finishing the match with a two-dart 75 checkout on double 12.
Before arriving in Leicester, Littler had won the World Championship, World Masters, UK Open, Premier League, World Cup and World Matchplay during 2026. "Luke Littler has been an inspiration of incredible success to the sport, brought awareness from people never interested," Lowe wrote. The 19-year-old congratulated Woodhouse on Instagram after the defeat, writing that "both hit, both missed but Luke took his chance". He also welcomed a "nice week off now" and wished his opponent well for the remainder of the tournament.
Lowe suggested Littler should become more selective about where he plays. "The real fact, so many events, non-stop, they all want the best player to be there. He has so far obliged," Lowe wrote. "Now maybe time to choose the ones that really matter. Get ready, refresh, produce. Not rocket science." Lowe won his world titles in 1979, 1987 and 1993, becoming the first player to lift the trophy in three different decades, and also made 28 consecutive World Championship appearances. "Just me, someone who has been there, someone who had to play in event after event to make a return," he continued. "Now in today's sport of darts, the rewards are of a high standard."
Lowe left the building trade to become a professional darts player in 1975. He was later among the players who broke away from the BDO to form the World Darts Council, which developed into the PDC, in pursuit of more tournaments and better prize money. In an earlier interview with Darts1, he recalled first prizes of £3,000 at the World Masters and £5,000 at the News of the World during the 1970s. His first televised nine-darter in 1984 brought an exceptional £102,000 bonus, separate from his tournament winnings. Lowe eventually moved towards the Legends of the Oche exhibition circuit after growing tired of playing qualifiers every weekend. The work remained substantial: he described more than 125 bookings to fulfil in 2009, with the following year's diary already filling.
