Luke Littler starts Grand Slam of Darts defence with win over Beau Greaves

Luke Littler began his Grand Slam of Darts title defence with a 5-2 win over Beau Greaves in Wolverhampton. The 19-year-old took a 3-0 lead early in the best-of-nine match before holding off a fightback from Greaves. Littler finished the game with an average just under 110 and hit seven 180s. With this victory, he remains unbeaten in 15 Grand Slam matches and is trying to join Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen as the only players to win three titles in a row. After the match, Littler told Sky Sports that he was happy with the win and needed a strong start because Greaves played well towards the end. He added that recent majors had not gone well for him, but hard practice helped him perform here. In other matches on the opening night, Luke Humphries beat Paolo Nebrida, while Ross Smith lost 5-3 to Rusty-Jake Rodriguez. Michael van Gerwen narrowly defeated 20-year-old English debutant Henry Coates 5-4 in a deciding leg. The expanded tournament features 48 group stage matches across the first three days, alongside other wins for Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, and Gian van Veen.

Context

The Grand Slam of Darts is a major tournament on the professional darts calendar that brings together top players from different organisations. Early round matches in group stages often use shorter formats like best-of-nine legs, where a fast start can help a player secure a win before opponents can mount a comeback.