Luke Littler praises Beau Greaves before Grand Slam of Darts opener

Luke Littler has praised Beau Greaves before the pair meet on the opening night of the Grand Slam of Darts. The world champion says Greaves is doing wonders for the women’s game, but he admits their group is a tricky one under the new format.

Littler and Greaves are in Group A in Wolverhampton, along with Niels Zonneveld. Only the group winner goes through to the knockout rounds, so an opening defeat would leave Littler with little room for error.

Luke Littler on Beau Greaves

Speaking to Express Sport, Littler was generous about the 22-year-old, who has won the Women’s World Matchplay three times.

“Beau’s been very good. She’s doing herself wonders and she’s also doing wonders for the women’s game,” he said. “I’m sure she’s attracted as many youngsters as I have but also into the women’s game as well.”

It’s a fair point. Littler brought a new young audience to darts when he reached the World Championship final as a 16-year-old. Greaves has done something similar for women’s darts, and she has shown she can compete with the best men on the PDC stage.

Why Group A is a tricky test

The 19-year-old didn’t play down the danger. “Me and Beau and Niels Zonneveld, it’s a tricky little group,” he said. “With the new format, obviously three in a group, only the top person goes through. And it’s only first to five, so, yeah, I’ve got to start off really well and try and put her under that pressure and just try and get through.”

Group matches are now played over the best of nine legs, which leaves very little room for a slow start. Zonneveld is no easy third opponent either. He is 28th in the world rankings and won his first ranking title at the Dutch Darts Championship this year.

Greaves has also beaten Littler before, winning 6-5 in the 2025 World Youth Championship semi-final, as our Beau Greaves Grand Slam preview explains.

Littler backs the new Grand Slam format

The PDC has changed the tournament this year. It used to have 32 players in groups of four, with the top two going through. Now there are 48 players in 16 groups of three, and only the winner progresses. Our Grand Slam of Darts groups guide has the full draw.

Littler welcomed the change, even though it adds risk for the big names. He said it would get rid of the dead matches between players who were already out.

He also expects more new ideas from the PDC. He said he was “probably the worst person to ask what to bring in”, but added that Barry and Eddie Hearn have “surely got a few ideas up their sleeves”.

When Littler plays Greaves

Littler is the two-time defending champion and is chasing a third title in a row. He beat Luke Humphries 16-11 in last year’s final.

His match against Greaves is the sixth game of tonight’s evening session at WV Active Aldersley. The session starts at 7pm UK time. The estimated start for Littler vs Greaves is 9.05pm, but that will depend on how long the earlier matches take.

Our Grand Slam of Darts day one order of play has the full list, and the Grand Slam of Darts schedule covers the rest of the week. You can follow every result on our darts hub and the Luke Littler player page.

Verdict

Littler said the right things. He respects Greaves, and he knows how dangerous a first-to-five match can be. If he starts well, he should take control of Group A. If he doesn’t, Greaves is more than capable of making this the story of the opening night.

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