Littler beats Greaves 5-2 to launch bid for third straight Grand Slam title

Luke Littler opened his Grand Slam of Darts title defence with a 5-2 victory over Beau Greaves in Wolverhampton on Saturday. The world number one averaged just under 110 and hit seven maximums, according to BBC Sport, as he began his attempt to win the tournament for a third consecutive year.

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The 19-year-old established a 3-0 advantage in the best-of-nine encounter before Greaves threatened a recovery. Littler kept control of the match to secure the two further legs he needed, extending his unbeaten run at the Grand Slam to 15 matches. Greaves finished with two legs against the defending champion.

A successful defence would put Littler alongside Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen as the only players to win three successive Grand Slam titles. His opening performance kept that ambition on course, although the tournament is still at the group stage. The expanded competition has 48 group matches scheduled across its first three days.

Speaking to Sky Sports in comments carried by the BBC, Littler said he had wanted a fast start because of the threat Greaves posed. He praised her performance and expressed satisfaction with his own display. He also said he had been practising after disappointing results in his previous three or four major tournaments.

Those recent setbacks included a quarter-final exit at the European Championship last month and a semi-final defeat at the World Youth Championships. The win over Greaves gave Littler a winning return to a tournament where he remains unbeaten, with his scoring producing seven visits of 180 during the seven-leg match.

Elsewhere on the opening night, Luke Humphries defeated Paolo Nebrida after winning the World Grand Prix in October. Ross Smith, a two-time major champion, lost 5-3 to Rusty-Jake Rodriguez. Van Gerwen was taken to a deciding leg by English debutant Henry Coates, 20, before the three-time Grand Slam champion completed a 5-4 victory. Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting and Gian van Veen also recorded wins, BBC Sport reported.