World Grand Slam: Night 2 - 'Iceman' Price and Luke Littler make marks with solid victories - 180UK.com
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World Grand Slam: Night 2 – ‘Iceman’ Price and Luke Littler make marks with solid victories

9 October 2025
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By Daniel Wright

Night 2 – Match 1: Luke Woodhouse vs Damon Heta

In the first clash of the night, “Woody” Luke Woodhouse took on the seed Damon Heta. The Australian number one was therefore the strong favourite despite some good recent tournament runs from Woodhouse. However, the double-in format got the better of “The Heat” early on and lost the first set. The unique state of the Grand Prix set Heta far too back in the early legs to catch up despite Woody missing quite a number of finishing doubles.

Heta steadily improved as the game went on to more like the levels expected from him in recent years that have seen him become the star of darts Down Under and a lot of people’s picks for the Premier League next year. This improvement saw him take the match’s second set (including a 151 checkout) and force a decider. However, the Englishman, ranked 29th in the world,  was not to be denied as he scraped over the line, claiming victory in a thrilling last leg decider and providing the first upset of the night.

Night 2 – Match 2: Ross Smith vs Daryl Gurney

Next up was world number 12 Ross Smith against one half of Northern Ireland’s World Cup winning duo in Daryl Gurney. “Smudger” has had another strong year on the tour and was certainly the most fancied ahead of this tie, despite “Super Chin’s” team triumph. But it was the man from Northern Ireland who took the first set comfortably as Smith became the second seeded player to struggle to get into legs early on.

Smith’s scoring improved in the second set but his doubling at the end of legs became the problem for him this time around. Gurney made no such mistake as he took all his chances on the outer ring to take the set 3-1 and breeze into the second round of the competition. The difference in double hitting was outlined in the end of match statistics- Smith managing just 14% accuracy in comparison to a very impressive 67% for Super Chin. Continuing in that vein will make him a tricky opponent for anyone he meets as the tournament progresses.

Night 2 – Match 3: Johnny Clayton vs Andrew Gilding

Another player who has had a bit of a resurgence this year is Johnny Clayton, who took on Andrew Gilding in his first-round match. The veteran Welshman came into the World Grand Prix all the way back up at a ranking of sixth in the world, albeit having lost six matches in a row on the tour. “The Ferret” took the first set 3-1 as “Goldfinger”, who has often been a tricky draw for seeds, only took one of his seven chances at doubles despite averaging higher than Clayton.

The second set provided more of what most people would expect as Clayton’s scoring picked up significantly- averaging 97 as opposed to just 79- whilst Gilding stuck to his task and took any chances that he got. The Englishman nailed both of his only shots at a double in the set but that was not enough as the current Welsh number one beat him in the deciding leg of the set, to claim a 2-0 win. He was the first seeded player to make it through on the night and he will take on Luke Woodhouse in Thursday’s first match.

Night 2 – Match 4: Gerwyn Price vs Ryan Searle

One of the closest matches of the first round in terms of current rankings was the fourth of the night between Gerwyn Price and Ryan Searle. “The Iceman” has been a man on a mission this year to claim back places after a drop-off in form in 2024. But it was “Heavy Metal” Searle that rocked him in the early stages of this match as Price really struggled to get into legs, only getting one shot at a double in the entire first set.

Searle himself has had a strong year on the tour and would’ve felt that the 94.4 average that he put in during the second set may have been enough to dump his Welsh opponent out, especially after the first set. On this occasion however, Price had other ideas as “Gezzy” took out a brilliant 138 (accompanied by his usual celebration) on the way to taking the match to a decider. The final set was a finishing masterclass as both players pinned every double, but the improvement in Price’s scoring saw him take it 3-1 and advance.

Night 2 – Match 5: Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen

This was always going to be the most highly anticipated match of the first round after the draw was made. Two of the best young players in the darting world clashing this early in a major tournament, surely it would provide fireworks? The first set quickly confirmed that as both rattled in huge scores and averaged well over a ton. “The Nuke” needed a brilliant 151 checkout to defy GvV’s stunning 106.9 first set average.

If anyone even doubted for a second that this rate of scoring could not possibly be kept up, they were proven wrong immediately. A fired up Littler could see he was up against the ropes despite leading and upped his average even further to over 107 for this set, compared to van Veen’s 105.6. These ridiculous record-breaking averages were astonishingly achieved with just 180 between both players in the entire set. Van Veen is sure to a be a huge contender in many majors to come but on this occasion he just had to watch on as the World Champion sealed the set without allowing the Dutch youngster a shot at double (including with a 144 out). This meant Littler progressed and van Veen was knocked out despite setting the highest ever World Grand Prix overall average of 106.47.

Night 2 – Match 6: Michael van Gerwen vs Dirk van Duijvenbode

After seeing one of their compatriots fall to the hands of the man who defeated van Gerwen at the World Championships in January, the two Dutchman clashed in their first round match. “The Green Machine” has been back to near his best on occasion in recent times and was looking to do as Luke Littler had done and avoid back-to-back first round eliminations at the World Grand Prix. However, his fellow Dutch competitor ranked 30 places below him stunned him early on, not missing a double to take the opening set 3-0.

MvG missed all five double attempts in the first set and could only manage two out of eight in the next as his hopes of avoiding another upset in Leicester were dashed on the outer ring of the board. He certainly scored better than his opponent in this set and van Duijvenbode himself needed 14 chances at doubles, but it was world number 3 that progressed by two sets to zero.

Night 2 – Match 7: Peter Wright vs Mike De Decker

The shock winner of the 2024 edition of the competition started his defence against the former two-time world champion Peter Wright. “Snakebite” has not been at his best for a while and is now actually ranked outside of the top 16, but is still a huge fan favourite. The reigning champ probably thought that he might have his work cut out as the Scotsman cruised to the opening set with a strong average and brilliant 110 checkout.

However, “The Real Deal” has proven himself to be made of strong stuff in the past 12 months, even despite his Premier League snub. He used all of this to rally and produce a terrific set with an average of over 104 and 152 out, limiting Wright to just the singular dart at double, to level. The final set was not as much of a thrilling decider as it could have been as Wright’s recent difficulties scoring returned, hampered by his attempts to double-in, with De Decker closing out the win and setting up a mouthwatering tie against Luke Littler.

Night 2 – Match 8: Josh Rock vs Ryan Joyce

The final match of the night and of the first round saw World Cup winner and young star Josh Rock take on “Relentless” Ryan Joyce. Rock has been in fantastic form recently across the tournaments in a real “coming of age” season but the man from the North-East has got his nickname for a reason and has dumped many a seeded player out of majors. Early doubling troubled for “Rocky” probably gave Joyce thoughts of another upset as he took advantage and took the first set 3-1.

The second set was quite subdued in comparison to some played during the night, but Rock took advantage of Joyce now having trouble finishing legs off to level the score. After an evening of drama in Leicester it seemed just right that the final game went all the way to a last leg decider, as it was now the Northern Irishman’s turn to miss multiple double attempts. But with a very timely 108 checkout he was able to seal the win and a very interesting tie with Gerwyn Price.

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