Arabic version: ليتلر يفتتح دفاعه عن لقب غراند سلام بفوز على غريفز
According to BBC News, Luke Littler began his Grand Slam of Darts title defence with a 5-2 victory over Beau Greaves on the opening night in Wolverhampton. The world number one built a 3-0 lead in the best-of-nine contest before managing Greaves’ late push.
The 19-year-old recorded an average just under 110 and hit seven 180s in a comfortable opening result. Littler has now gone unbeaten across 15 Grand Slam matches and is seeking to become the third player, after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, to win three successive titles.
“I am happy with the win,” Littler told Sky Sports. He said he needed a strong start because Greaves “started to find it at the end there”, adding that he was pleased to have shown the benefits of practice after recent major events had not gone well for him.
The expanded tournament features 48 group-stage matches across its opening three days. Luke Humphries, the World Grand Prix winner in October, beat Paolo Nebrida, while Rusty-Jake Rodriguez defeated two-time major winner Ross Smith 5-3. On his tournament debut, England’s Henry Coates pushed Van Gerwen to a deciding leg, but the three-time champion prevailed 5-4. Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting and Gian van Veen also won.
