Littler beats Greaves to begin Grand Slam title defence

Luke Littler began his Grand Slam of Darts title defence with a 5-2 win over Beau Greaves in Wolverhampton, extending his unbeaten run in the tournament to 15 matches.

The world number one surged into a 3-0 lead in the best-of-nine contest and finished with an average just under 110 and seven 180s. Greaves threatened a comeback, but Littler held on.

“I am happy with the win,” Littler told Sky Sports. He said he had wanted a strong start and praised Greaves, adding that he was pleased with his own performance. Littler also said his recent major tournaments had not gone well, but that he had been practising.

The 19-year-old is aiming to become the third player, after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, to win the title three years in a row. The expanded tournament features 48 group-stage matches across its opening three days.

Elsewhere on the opening night, Luke Humphries beat Paolo Nebrida, while Van Gerwen edged debutant Henry Coates 5-4 by winning the deciding leg. Ross Smith lost 5-3 to Rusty-Jake Rodriguez. Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting and Gian van Veen also won.