Luke Littler and Gian van Veen produced double-start darts from the gods on an historic night at World Grand Prix.
The world champion was handed an extremely tough draw against one of the sport's fastest rising stars, who'd also beaten him three times in a row this season, and their eagerly-anticipated showdown was widely billed as the tie of the first round in Leicester.
Imagine breaking a record that has stood for 24 years and still lose?!
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180)
Hardly anyone averages over 100+ at the World Grand Prix so for Luke Littler and Gian van Veen to go straight into the top five of all time is absolutely crazy.
Both players, who were looking for their maiden victory in this format after bowing out at this stage 12 months ago, quickly lived up to the hype with a staggering first set of darts which Littler pinched 3-2 with an average of 104.37 compared to van Veen's 106.94.
🤯 You won't see many better sets than that, let alone in double-start!
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180)
(104.37) Luke Littler 3-2 Gian van Veen (106.94)
The teenage sensation found another gear in the second set by taking all three legs to complete a 2-0 victory in around 10 minutes of total playing time, but van Veen's final average of 106.47 was the highest in the competition's history.
It broke Alan Warriner-Little's record of 106.45 that he set way back in 2001 and nobody had come remotely close since. Until tonight.
Littler's average of 105.58 was the third highest of all time but more importantly it's sent out an ominous warning to the rest of his rivals.
Wow! Luke Littler beats Gian van Veen 2-0 with the second highest winning average in World Grand Prix history (105.58)!
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180)
Van Veen's 106.47 is the highest average in any World GP match ever!
“We definitely bring the best out of each other,” reflected Littler. “Gian played his part in a brilliant game, but to get my first win on this stage feels amazing.
“Anything can happen in double-start, so hopefully I can perform like I did tonight in round two. I’ll be ready!”
Littler will next face De Decker on Thursday after the defending champion came from behind to beat Peter Wright with the help of a sublime 152 checkout midway through set two.
“It was a shaky start, but I played well in the final two sets,” reflected De Decker, who is aiming to become the third player in World Grand Prix history to retain the double-start crown.
“I was really nervous in the first set, because I’ve never had the experience of defending a title before, but it was also a nice feeling. I had goosebumps coming back here!”
Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen suffered an early exit after losing 2-0 against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The 2020 runner-up will now meet 2017 champion Daryl Gurney, who stunned Ross Smith for the loss of a solitary leg.
Gerwyn Price and Josh Rock will renew their rivalry on Thursday after coming through hard-fought battles with Ryan Searle and Ryan Joyce respectively.
Elsewhere, 2021 champion Jonny Clayton overcame tricky opponent Andrew Gilding to set up a meeting with Luke Woodhouse in round two.
Woodhouse produced an extraordinary comeback to win through a last-leg shoot-out against Damon Heta – extending the Australian’s winless record on the World Grand Prix stage to five matches.
Having missed seven darts at a starting double in the decider, Woodhouse launched a stunning late revival, crashing in back-to-back 180s and converting a clinical 90 kill to seal his progress.
2025 World Grand Prix Draw & Results
ROUND TWO
- (1) Luke Humphries v Krzysztof Ratajski
- Cameron Menzies v Rob Cross (9)
- (4) Stephen Bunting v Danny Noppert (13)
- Joe Cullen v Gary Anderson (12)
- (2) Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
- (7) Gerwyn Price v Josh Rock (10)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode v Daryl Gurney
- (6) Jonny Clayton v Luke Woodhouse
ROUND ONE
- (1) Luke Humphries 2-0 Nathan Aspinall
- (16) Martin Schindler 0-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
- (8) Chris Dobey 0-2 Cameron Menzies
- (9) Rob Cross 2-1 Wessel Nijman
- (4) Stephen Bunting 2-0 Niko Springer
- (13) Danny Noppert 2-1 Jermaine Wattimena
- (5) James Wade 0-2 Joe Cullen
- (12) Gary Anderson 2-1 Raymond van Barneveld
- (2) Luke Littler 2-0 Gian van Veen
- (15) Peter Wright 1-2 Mike De Decker
- (7) Gerwyn Price 2-1 Ryan Searle
- (10) Josh Rock 2-1 Ryan Joyce
- (3) Michael van Gerwen 0-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- (14) Ross Smith 0-2 Daryl Gurney
- (6) Jonny Clayton 2-0 Andrew Gilding
- (11) Damon Heta 1-2 Luke Woodhouse
2025 World Grand Prix Schedule
Monday October 6 (1800 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of 3 sets)
- Rob Cross 2-1 Wessel Nijman
- Martin Schindler 0-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Chris Dobey 0-2 Cameron Menzies
- James Wade 0-2 Joe Cullen
- Danny Noppert 2-1 Jermaine Wattimena
- Luke Humphries 2-0 Nathan Aspinall
- Gary Anderson 2-1 Raymond van Barneveld
- Stephen Bunting 2-0 Niko Springer
Tuesday October 7 (1800 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of 3 sets)
- Damon Heta 1-2 Luke Woodhouse
- Ross Smith 0-2 Daryl Gurney
- Jonny Clayton 2-0 Andrew Gilding
- Gerwyn Price 2-1 Ryan Searle
- Luke Littler 2-0 Gian van Veen
- Michael van Gerwen 0-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Peter Wright 1-2 Mike De Decker
- Josh Rock 2-1 Ryan Joyce
Wednesday October 8 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Second Round matches (Best of 5 sets)
- Cameron Menzies v Rob Cross
- Stephen Bunting v Danny Noppert
- Luke Humphries v Krzysztof Ratajski
- Gary Anderson v Joe Cullen
Thursday October 9 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Second Round matches (Best of 5 sets)
- Four matches
Friday October 10 (1900 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Quarter-Finals (Best of seven sets)
- Four matches
Saturday October 11 (2030 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Semi-Finals (Best of seven sets)
- Two matches
Sunday October 13 (2000 BST)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
Final (Best of nine sets)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
What TV channel is the World Grand Prix on?
The World Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
World Grand Prix Prize Money
- Winner - £120,000
- Runner-up - £60,000
- Semi-finalists - £40,000
- Quarter-finalists - £25,000
- Second round - £15,000
- First round - £7,500
Tournament Format
- All Sets are the best of five legs. There will be no tie-break in any set.
- All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before he can begin scoring in each leg.
- First Round - Best of three sets
- Second Round - Best of five sets
- Quarter-Finals - Best of five sets
- Semi-Finals - Best of seven sets
- Final - Best of nine sets
World Grand Prix History
- Final scores in sets
- 1998 - Phil Taylor 13-8 Rod Harrington
- 1999 - Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess
- 2000 - Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess
- 2001 - Alan Warriner 8-2 Roland Scholten
- 2002 - Phil Taylor 7-3 John Part
- 2003 - Phil Taylor 7-2 John Part
- 2004 - Colin Lloyd 7-3 Alan Warriner
- 2005 - Phil Taylor 7-1 Colin Lloyd
- 2006 - Phil Taylor 7-4 Terry Jenkins
- 2007 - James Wade 6-3 Terry Jenkins
- 2008 - Phil Taylor 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
- 2009 - Phil Taylor 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
- 2010 - James Wade 6-3 Adrian Lewis
- 2011 - Phil Taylor 6-3 Brendan Dolan
- 2012 - Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Mervyn King
- 2013 - Phil Taylor 6-0 Dave Chisnall
- 2014 - Michael van Gerwen 5-3 James Wade
- 2015 -
- 2016 -
- 2017 - Daryl Gurney 5-4 Simon Whitlock
- 2018 - Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Peter Wright
- 2019 - Michael van Gerwen 5-1 Dave Chisnall
- 2020 - Gerwyn Price 5-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- 2021 - Jonny Clayton 5-1 Gerwyn Price
- 2022 - Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Nathan Aspinall
- 2023 - Luke Humphries 5-2 Gerwyn Price
- 2024 - Mike de Decker 6-4 Luke Humphries
World Grand Prix Most Titles
- Phil Taylor - 11
- Michael van Gerwen - 6
- James Wade - 2
- Mike de Decker - 1
- Luke Humphries - 1
- Jonny Clayton - 1
- Gerwyn Price - 1
- Daryl Gurney - 1
- Colin Lloyd - 1
- Alan Warriner - 1
- Robert Thornton - 1
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