Who is Luke Woodhouse? How he ended Luke Littler’s World Grand Prix defence

Luke Woodhouse ended defending champion Luke Littler’s World Grand Prix campaign with a 2–1 first-round win in Leicester on Monday 28 September. The professional from Bewdley recovered from a set down to eliminate the world number one, ensuring the tournament would have a different champion this year.

The striking detail: their scoring averages were almost identical. SPORT1 recorded 82.51 for Woodhouse and 82.41 for Littler, but reported a clearer gap on doubles. Afterwards, Woodhouse used his moment to defend the player he had beaten: “Luke’s not a robot,” he said, according to Sky Sports.

Who is Luke Woodhouse?

Known as “Woody”, Woodhouse earned his PDC Tour Card through Q School in 2018, according to his equipment company Harrows. That makes this the victory of an established tour professional with years of experience, rather than a newcomer arriving directly on the major-tournament stage.

His Harrows player profile records two earlier wins over prominent opponents at the end of 2019: Daryl Gurney at the Players Championship Finals and Michael Smith at the World Championship. Those results helped secure his Tour Card for another year and provide some context for his latest upset.

How Woodhouse came back against Littler

Woodhouse then won the second and third sets to complete the comeback. In a first-round match played over the best of three sets, those two sets were enough to end Littler’s title defence at the first hurdle.

SPORT1 reported doubles percentages of 46.67% for Woodhouse and 37.5% for Littler. Alongside the near-identical three-dart averages, those figures show where the performances differed. The report does not supply an attempt-by-attempt breakdown, so the percentages should not be turned into an invented tally of missed darts.

Why the World Grand Prix’s double-start rule matters

The World Grand Prix requires players to start each leg by hitting a double, as well as finish on one. In its pre-tournament format analysis, Darts World described it as the only tournament on the PDC circuit with that requirement. Doubles therefore matter at both ends of a leg.

The short opening-round format adds another constraint. Darts World’s preview noted that best-of-three-set matches leave little time to recover from a slow start. Woodhouse managed that recovery against Littler, but only after conceding the first of the two sets his opponent needed to win.

There is an important distinction in SPORT1’s account of Littler’s performance: it reported difficulties on doubles while saying that the requirement to enter each leg on a double caused him relatively little trouble. Describing the defeat simply as a failure to handle double-start darts would miss that detail.

What Woodhouse and Littler said afterwards

Woodhouse’s post-match remarks focused on the expectations surrounding Littler. “He’s going to have days and weeks and whatever where he’s not right on it,” he said in Sky’s report. He called Littler “one of a kind” and urged people to appreciate his ability.

“I hope people will take the time to appreciate how good he is and not give him a hard time,” Woodhouse added. “You might not see another Luke Littler ever again.” His response to beating the defending champion was an appeal for perspective about an off day.

Why this result stood out

Littler had won his first World Grand Prix title in 2025 by beating Luke Humphries 6–1 in the final, SPORT1 reported. This time, his defence lasted one match. SPORT1 commentator Basti Schwele called the unfolding result “Das ist eine riesengroße Sensation” — describing it as a huge upset.