"I just couldn't believe it" - Luke Littler admits surprise at Luke Humphries' early Grand Slam of Darts exit

Luke Littler has qualified as group winner for the knockout phase of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. 'The Nuke' defeated Lourence Ilagan 5-3 in his final group match and will now face World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in the last 16.

Littler secured the group win in another attractive duel. After wins over Keane Barry (5-0) and Dimitri van den Bergh (5-1), 'The Nuke' also triumphed 5-3 against Ilagan. Littler almost ensured another perfect end to the match after eight perfect arrows, but the double 12 was narrowly missed for a nine darter. Finally, the 17-year-old teenage sensation hit the double 3 to take the win for good. Littler achieved a 100+ average for the third match in a row, although his 102.05 was just slightly lower than during his first two group matches.

“I was relaxed. I knew I had qualified. The important thing was to win and go three out of three in the group," Littler reflected afterwards in his post-match press conference. "I felt dead relaxed and enjoyed that."

As mentioned though, the close call with another nine-darter was the most memorable moment of the match. "I know if I do hit another one then it’s a record. I know if I play well, I can feel it coming. It didn’t go then – I’ll try again next time,” says The Nuke.

One who surprisingly did not make it through the group stage is Luke Humphries, who finished third in his group behind James Wade and Mickey Mansell. "I just couldn't believe it," Littler admits. "I thought he would have gone through, but obviously now I've just got to focus on myself, and hopefully, I'll win the next game."

Littler had regular time for interaction with the Wolverhampton crowd during his match against Ilagan. "I did quite a lot with the crowd because I knew I was through but in the next round I'll need to focus on the game. I'll always get the crowd involved," he explains. "I just thought to myself, 'Let's have some fun.'"

UK fans can use Sky Sports during the Grand Slam of Darts. As usual, the tournament begins with a group stage with eight pools of four players each. The group stage takes place from Saturday through Tuesday, with all players playing three times.

The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout phase. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 13, the knockout phase will begin with the first matches of the final sixteen. This round will be completed on Thursday, Nov. 14. The quarterfinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16, before the semifinals and finals are finished on Sunday, Nov. 17.