Luke Littler suffered a first-round exit for Rob Cross on his World Grand Prix debut on a dramatic opening night in Leicester that saw defending champion Luke Humphries almost suffer the same fate.
Littler, a 17-year-old who has won nine titles in as many months in 2024 amid an impressive start to his professional darts career, made his first appearance in the second event but lost 2-1 to Cross, the team. 2018 world champion and 4th seed.
Littler leveled the match at 1-1 after losing the first set but Cross, who fought back brilliantly and won the next set, finished on the bullseye in the winning fourth leg to advance to round two and beat the pre-tournament favourites.
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Rob Cross beat Luke Littler with an 88 finish in the bullseye at the World Grand Prix
“My record in this tournament is not good, so I’m happy to get over the winning streak,” said Cross.
“I struggled in the first set, but then I started to find a rhythm and I felt very strong in my own throw, which gave me confidence for the next few days.”
Humphries survived Bunting’s scare
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Luke Humphries turned his match against Stephen Bunting after scoring 118 this checkout
Earlier Humphries, the defending champion, had been on the verge of an early shock exit himself against the in-form Stephen Bunting, who won the first five legs against the world No 1 and then took the double to win the match.
But after ‘The Bullet’ missed the match-winning double 16, an unnerved Humphries spectacularly turned the match around.
The world champion won the next three legs to suddenly level the match at one set and then ease away in the deciding third as Bunting’s challenge slowly faded.
“It’s a game you play for,” said Humphries, who will play Ricardo Pietreczko for a place in the quarter-finals.
“Stephen was very unlucky there. He was the better player overall, but I never gave up, and that’s the attitude of a true champion.
“As soon as I won the first leg, I knew I had a chance, and I worked hard to get back into the game.”
Barney roared at Pikachu
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Ricardo Pietreczko forgot to start with a double in the tournament…
Raymond van Barneveld, the 2008-2009 runners-up, lost in the first round for the second consecutive year as they lost 2-1 to Germany. Pietrecko.
Van Barneveld fired four darts to win the opening set, and although he recovered to level the contest, Pietreczko struck to set up three unanswered to win his second debut.
‘Pikachu’ will now play Humphries in round two, while Cross faces off Martin Schindler after the German player beat Brendan Dolan.
Schindler – a quarter-finalist in 2023 – opened the challenge with a 2-0 victory over 2011 runner-up Dolan, landing three 180s and converting six of 12 attempts in the final double.
Asp won the thriller
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Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Searle battled it out in a dramatic winner-takes-all leg
In another epic encounter of the night, Nathan Aspinall advanced to round two after a final shootout against Ryan Searle.
“I’m really happy to win after everything I’ve been through over the last few months,” said Aspinall, who was making his first television appearance since July.
“I had a really tough game against Ryan and this last set proved it, but I’m really happy with the way I performed.”
Smith turned the trend
Ross Smith produced a performance on Monday’s opening night in the direct-set demolition of Gian van Veen, averaging 101.79 to close an incredible display – the ninth highest average in the history of the World Grand Prix.
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Guan van Veen reeled in ‘The Big Fish’ during his defeat against Ross Smith
Van Veen’s single leg came from a 170 checkout, but Smith was undaunted, brushing aside the Dutch debutant to set up a second-round match against Johnny Clayton.
Clayton, the 2021 champion, was also one of the standouts, starting his bid for a second title with a win over Ritchie Edhouse.
Ryan Joyce advanced in straight sets in his first World Grand Prix appearance since 2020, winning five straight legs to defeat Josh Rock in the tournament.
What happened on Tuesday at the World Grand Prix?
Michael van Gerwen opened his bid to claim his seventh World Grand Prix title on Tuesday
The first round will come to a close, as six-time champion Michael van Gerwen continues his bid for a second straight double against 2017 champion Daryl Gurney.
Michael Smith and Gary Anderson renew their rivalry in a repeat of their first round clash at the World Matchplay, while 2020 champion Gerwyn Price enters the fray against Danny Noppert.
Two-time World Grand Prix winner James Wade played 2018 runner-up Peter Wright in another blockbuster battle, while Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen collided on the World Grand Prix stage for the second year running.
British Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh kicks off his campaign against Luke Woodhouse, with Van den Bergh’s fellow Belgian Mike De Decker pitted against Australian No.1 Damon Heta.
Two-time champion Dave Chisnall will open the show in Leicester, and the sixth seed will face a tough test against Cameron Menzies – one of five debutants in the 32-man field.
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