World Grand Prix Darts: Will Luke Littler successfully defend his title? Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Ross Smith in the mix
Will Luke Littler successfully defend his World Grand Prix title? Can Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, James Wade or Ross Smith trouble the world No 1 in the unique double-in, double-out format?
Littler will be hoping the home crowd at Leicester's Mattioli Arena is more welcoming after the two-time world champion was booed and whistled at during the World Series of Darts Finals exit in Amsterdam earlier this month.
The 19-year-old headed into the tournament chasing a historic clean sweep after winning the first six major titles of the season but suffered a crushing 10-4 defeat to Jonny Clayton in the last eight.
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Stephen Bunting backed Littler, saying he has "changed" darts since bursting onto the scene a few years ago.
"It's really hard, isn't it? Obviously, Luke is the best player in the world. For whatever reason, the crowd got on his back, they didn't want him to do the [clean sweep]," said Bunting.
"He was probably on edge, anyway, going into [the tournament]. Maybe in Germany, in Belgium, I've had it a few times where the crowd has whistled out.
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"If you let the crowd know they're getting to you, it can be 10 times worse. It's a hard one to say, but I don't like the whistling. I'd rather have someone shouting abuse at me than whistling.
"It's a horrible noise to hear when you're trying to concentrate. But I understand it'll keep happening, no matter how much we talk about it.
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"Punishments need to be brought in, maybe. Until that happens, it'll keep happening."
Littler takes on Luke Woodhouse in the first round and if he wins he will go on to play either Nathan Aspinall or Kevin Doets in round two.
Luke Humphries lost the World Grand Prix final two years ago but 'Cool Hand Luke' must at least match that run this time, otherwise he will surrender second place in the world rankings to Gian van Veen.
The former world champion opens his campaign against Dave Chisnall, with a potential second-round showdown against Chris Dobey or Jermaine Wattimena.
Humphries, who suffered a shock defeat to Mike De Decker in the 2024 final, only returned to competitive action at the end of August for the first time since his shock round-one exit to Cameron Menzies in the World Matchplay on July 20 and went on to win Players Championship 28 before defeat to Littler in the final of the Czech Open.
Humphries said: "I'm going to get back on the practice board at home as much as I can now and I'm going to dedicate the rest of the year to trying to be my best and trying to push Luke - and not just Luke, but everyone else because I want to stay at No 2.
"Whether that happens or not, I'm going to fight for it because I'm going to try my best."
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James Wade also has significant prize money on the line at the World Grand Prix while Ross Smith heads into the tournament in the form of his life having produced a masterclass to destroy Gerwyn Price and end his four-year wait for second major title after winning the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.
Wade ended a decade-long wait for a European Tour title as he beat Smith in the final of the Flanders Darts Trophy earlier this month and heads to Leicester in fine fettle.
"Wadey this year, last year even, he's just someone that you just can't really bet against," Polly James said on the Love The Darts podcast. "His scoring power, his doubling, just everything. And when it's on and he's in a good mood up for it, he could easily win this."
Paul Nicholson added: "What's he going to do next? Win the Worlds? We've talked about how the fact he's never going to win that. Well, maybe he could now."
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Smith, who told Love The Darts he feels ready to play in the Premier League, has appeared in two major finals and has won both after winning the recent World Series of Darts Finals to add to his European Championship in 2022.
Nicholson, nicknamed 'The Asset', advised former trucker Smith to "stay energised" and "stay sharp" and "keep believing" as he prepares to face Cameron Menzies in the opening round of the World Grand Prix.
"When he wins in Amsterdam, it's not an accident because he's one of the best players in the world right now," said Nicholson. "He's doing a lot right."
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Gerwyn Price will be looking to end a four-year wait for another major crown at the same tournament where he had last lifted one.
Meanwhile, six-time World Grand Prix winner Michael van Gerwen is a player who is struggling for form having recently suffered a first-round exit at the World Series of Darts Finals.
Speaking ahead of Van Gerwen upcoming World Grand Prix game with Ryan Joyce, Nicholson questioned whether he will ever find his best form again.
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"As he slips down the rankings, we should say, 'you're not finished'. He has people in his corner but what are you going to do about it? Ultimately it's up to him. The definition of a comeback is what you do on the stage in moments and those moments are fewer than before."
Other players to watch out for are Wessel Nijman, who is enjoying an outstanding season, already winning four Players Championship titles and two Euro Tour titles, and fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets - who is one of the names every player hopes to avoid in the draw - including his first-round opponent Nathan Aspinall.
Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the World Grand Prix (September 28-October 4), Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 10-January 3) all live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.
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25 of September 2026
