The 2026 World Grand Prix has produced one of its most dramatic openings in years, with defending champion Luke Littler crashing out in round one at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester on Monday night. The shock defeat, and further upsets on Tuesday, have left world number two Luke Humphries as the new favourite to lift the title when the tournament concludes on Sunday 4 October.
Littler suffers seismic first-round exit
Aiming to bounce back following his quarterfinal exit in the World Series of Darts a week ago, the 19-year-old instead threw away a commanding position against the underdog in the round of 32 match. Littler scraped through the opening set 3-1 despite being well below his best and continued to falter - particularly with his finishing doubles - as Woodhouse bounced back to level the match before holding his nerve in the third set to spring a huge surprise.
The result ended any hope of a clean sweep of majors for the teenager this year. Littler was gracious in defeat, posting on Instagram: «Well played @lukewoodly180 was a good game, good one to be apart of aswell», before adding a message wishing his conqueror well for the rest of the event. Woodhouse, for his part, summed up the upset simply: «Luke's not a robot.»
Van Gerwen also dumped out on opening night
Littler was not the only big name to fall in round one. There will not be a seventh title at this event for Michael van Gerwen after he was dumped out by Ryan Joyce in round one. Elsewhere on Monday, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert, Ross Smith, Jonny Clayton and Wessel Nijman all progressed to round two.
Humphries eases through as new favourite
Tuesday's session belonged in part to Luke Humphries, who moved to the top of the betting as tournament favourite following Littler's elimination. Cool Hand, sporting a scab on his forehead he put down to an allergic reaction, defeated Chisnall 2-0 while averaging only 80.41 and going at 26 per cent on his doubles as he secured a second-round meeting with Chris Dobey's conqueror Jermaine Wattimena.
The 2023 champion was far from his fluent best, and Chisnall did not look to be a huge threat when on the oche, with Humphries wasteful at the end of legs, but very little pressure came back. Even so, the win was enough to book his place in round two, where he will face Jermaine Wattimena on Thursday evening.
More shocks as Rock and Dobey are dumped out
Tuesday's card also delivered further casualties among the seeds. Dobey was one of two seeds to tumble on Tuesday evening, alongside Josh Rock, who fell to Niels Zonneveld as the Dutch debutant peeled off three ton-plus finishes in the third set to book a last-16 date with Gary Anderson. Rock produced the 151 checkout, Zonneveld produced the bigger moments on the outer ring and pinched the deciding set.
James Wade and Gary Anderson both required fightbacks to reach round two. James Wade did James Wade things: unspectacular, unflappable, 2-1 over Joe Cullen, while Gary Anderson, never the most natural fit for the double-start, still had too much know-how for Damon Heta and closed it 2-1. Gian van Veen also made a winning start, sweeping aside Dirk van Duijvenbode 2-0 to move above Humphries in the world rankings for the time being.
What comes next in Leicester
With round one complete, the tournament now moves into its second-round phase, played over the best of five sets rather than three. Wednesday's card sees Woodhouse take on Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert face Ryan Joyce, Gerwyn Price meet Ross Smith and Jonny Clayton play Wessel Nijman, while Thursday brings Humphries against Wattimena, Niels Zonneveld against Gary Anderson, Gian van Veen against Ryan Searle and James Wade against the winner of Stephen Bunting's tie with Andrew Gilding.
The event, staged annually by the PDC, remains one of the sport's most distinctive majors because of its scoring format. The event, live in full on Sky Sports, uniquely requires players to begin and finish every leg on a double or the bullseye. With Littler and Van Gerwen already gone, the draw has opened up significantly, and quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final are all scheduled to take place across the closing weekend, culminating in Sunday's showpiece. The total prize fund this year will be an increased total of £750,000, with the winner receiving £150,000.
For a competition that has produced champions as varied as Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen down the years, this edition already looks set to add another unexpected name to its roll of honour, with Humphries now installed as the man to beat.