Michael van Gerwen was stunned by a 10-6 loss to Danny Noppert in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts as Luke Littler cruised into the quarter-finals.
The match between Van Gerwen and Noppert began in breathless fashion, with four ton-plus checkouts in the opening five legs — a Big Fish each, a 101 for Noppert and a sensational 160 checkout for Van Gerwen — putting on a show for the Wolverhampton crowd. In the second session the scoring calmed and the throw held throughout, Van Gerwen handing Noppert a reprieve in the 10th leg by missing a break opportunity on D18, allowing Noppert to move 6-4 ahead.
From there Noppert took control, reeling off three legs in a row to put himself one leg from victory. Nervy darts followed but he eventually wrapped up the match on tops.
“At the end I couldn’t take it out! Over the whole game I played well, everything went my way, but in the end I was a little bit nervous,” Noppert told Sky Sports. “Why was I nervous? I don’t know. I didn’t need to be nervous. I could have got over the line easier. It was a rollercoaster. I think I coped under pressure and scored well in the game, so I’m really happy. If I keep playing like this and maintain this form, there will be problems for everyone.”
Littler finds doubling magic as title defence marches on
Littler produced an imperious doubling display with a 105 average to secure a 10-4 win over Wessel Nijman and continue his title defence in Wolverhampton. Littler was on another level in the opening session, a near 111 average helping him clean sweep all five legs on offer as Nijman could find no answer to his electric play.
Nijman did wrestle back some control after the break to bring the score to 5-2 but missed a major opportunity to break again and let Littler move 7-3 ahead. That pivotal 10th leg swung the game firmly back in Littler’s favour; he broke the throw, took out 86 on the bull and confirmed an 83 per cent success rate on the doubles, finishing the match with a 96 checkout.
Littler said: “I just want to win as quick as possible. I know Wessel, we’ve had our battles on the Pro Tour, so to get the win over him tonight was special. We go onto the last eight. If someone plays their best darts, they might catch me but tonight felt very good. I have my eyes on everything, the title, world No 1. I know if I get to the final then I’ll be world No 1, so I’m taking it game by game and hopefully Josh and I can have another good game like the Matchplay.”
Grand Slam of Darts: Thursday’s results
– Lukas Wenig 10-8 Niko Springer
– Josh Rock 10-9 Connor Scutt
– Luke Littler 10-4 Wessel Nijman
– Michael van Gerwen 6-10 Danny Noppert
Rock scrapes to Littler battle as Wenig gets monumental win
Littler will now play Josh Rock in the quarter-finals. Rock was pushed all the way by Connor Scutt in a deciding-leg 10-9 win in which neither player produced their best darts. Despite Rock racing into a 3-0 lead, Scutt fought back as Rock’s scoring and doubling deserted him — 16 trebleless visits across the opening eight legs hurt the Northern Irishman. Rock picked up three legs on the spin again later, but Scutt then took three in a row and the momentum swung between them. Rock held together at the right moment with a 14-dart leg on D9 to seal his quarter-final spot.
Meanwhile Noppert will face Lukas Wenig after Wenig pulled off the biggest win of his career with a 10-8 victory over Niko Springer, his 53 per cent success rate on the doubles getting him over the line and into his first major quarter-final. Springer took the first two legs but Wenig fought back to level at 5-5, including a sensational 154 checkout. Wenig made his move with a break of throw to lead 9-7 and eventually wrapped up the win on tops.
Confirmed quarter-finals
– Lukas Wenig vs Danny Noppert
– Luke Littler vs Josh Rock
What’s coming up on Friday?
Friday sees the quarter-final action begin at the Grand Slam with Ricky Evans taking on Gerwyn Price and a battle of former Grand Slam champions between Luke Humphries and Michael Smith.
Friday November 14, 19:00 (Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event)
– 2x Quarter-Finals (best of 31 legs)
– Ricky Evans vs Gerwyn Price
– Luke Humphries vs Michael Smith
Who will win the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts? Watch live throughout the week from 7pm on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event.