The 2026 World Grand Prix lost its defending champion on the very first night. Luke Woodhouse beat Luke Littler 2–1 on Monday 28 September at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. In the same session, Ryan Joyce knocked out Michael van Gerwen by the same score. Two of the World Grand Prix favourites have therefore left Leicester before even reaching the last 16.
Woodhouse knocks out the defending champion
Luke Littler had, however, begun his title defence with a scrappy first set that he still took 3-1. The match then took a turn: Luke Woodhouse snatched the second set 3-2, before winning the third 3-1. The final score was two sets to one, with the winner averaging 82.51 compared to 82.41 for the defending champion. In a tournament where every leg opens with a double, neither man averaged above 83 on the night.
Van Gerwen goes down too
Ryan Joyce produced the second upset of the night. Having lost the first set 2-3, he turned the tables on Michael van Gerwen by taking the next two sets 3-1 and 3-1. The Dutchman, the ninth seed, finished with an average of 87.10, compared to 85.21 for his opponent, who therefore progresses in the tournament.
The other qualifiers from the first evening
| First round | Score | Averages |
|---|---|---|
| Gerwyn Price (4) - Sebastian Bialecki | 2-0 | 101.61 / 82.88 |
| Ross Smith (13) v Cameron Menzies | 2-1 | 99.54 / 90.85 |
| Nathan Aspinall (16) – Kevin Doets | 2-1 | 89.20 / 92.27 |
| Danny Noppert (8) – Niko Springer | 2-1 | 88.42 / 83.58 |
| Jonny Clayton (5) v Krzysztof Ratajski | 2-1 | 85.52 / 80.85 |
| Wessel Nijman – Rob Cross | 2-0 | 82.43 / 81.02 |
Gerwyn Price posted the highest average of the evening against Sebastian Bialecki, who was swept aside in two sets. Ross Smith fought back from a set down to beat Cameron Menzies in a match of a higher standard than the two surprises of the night (99.54 versus 90.85). Nathan Aspinall progressed despite posting a lower average than Kevin Doets, whilst Jonny Clayton and Danny Noppert had to battle through three sets to secure their places in the next round.
What lies ahead for the survivors
The rest of the first round takes place on Tuesday 29 September, ahead of the last 16 scheduled for Wednesday 30 September. Four fixtures have already been confirmed: Luke Woodhouse versus Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert versus Ryan Joyce, Gerwyn Price versus Ross Smith and Jonny Clayton versus Wessel Nijman. From the second round onwards, matches will be played as best of five sets, compared to best of three in the first round.
A format that offers little leeway
The World Grand Prix remains the only major PDC event where every leg begins with a double. The first round is played as best of three sets, the next two rounds as best of five, the semi-finals as best of nine and the final as best of eleven. The winner takes home £150,000 from a total prize fund of £750,000.
With Littler and Van Gerwen out of the running, the draw opens up for the other top players still in contention, starting with Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and James Wade, but also for Gerwyn Price, who has already qualified. To see the sixteen opening fixtures, check out our article on the full draw for the 2026 World Grand Prix.
