Sport
Van Gerwen and Littler Eliminated Early at World Grand Prix, Noppert Advances Convincingly
Michael van Gerwen suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat to Ryan Joyce in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Leicester, continuing a difficult period for the Dutch darts star. Reigning world champion Luke Littler was also eliminated, losing 2-1 to Luke Woodhouse after failing to capitalize on multiple double opportunities. Conversely, Danny Noppert advanced to the quarter-finals with a convincing 2-1 victory over Niko Springer, recovering from a missed match dart in the second set to win the decider 3-0. Kevin Doets also exited the tournament after missing three match darts against Nathan Aspinall, despite posting a higher scoring average. The World Grand Prix features the top sixteen players and continues through Sunday, with the winner receiving over €174,000.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's