"I'm definitely glad she's on the tour" - Luke Littler makes Beau Greaves admission after thrilling Grand Slam of Darts victory

The opening set of fixtures at the Grand Slam of Darts was dominated by Luke Littler taking on Beau Greaves. It was a thrilling contest, in which Littler came out on top 5-2 in a brilliant display. He is back from a break from the major stage, replenished after the Netflix show while also crediting Greaves for her rise on the PDC Tour.

There was a lot of anticipation going into the match, with the best man and woman darter locking horns on the big stage, and the contest did not disappoint. Littler's incredible scoring made Greaves look human in periods, and that allowed him to miss 12 darts on the outer ring and still average 109.97.

He looked back on the match in his press conference. "Obviously there was a lot of hype surrounding the game, but I'm just happy to get that winning feeling back. Happy to be back on the stage. I said in my pre-match interview that I've been practising, so, yeah, it's good to show it on the big stage.

Before this match, 'The Nuke' had not been at his imperious best, failing to triumph in the last three major events. However, he was much better in his return to Wolverhampton. "I think so. But obviously, like I said to you, the other majors didn't go to plan. It is what it is. We win some, we lose some. It starts again at the end of the day, but, yeah, feeling good. It's good to be back on stage."

It is a location and tournament where he has never lost, winning the title on his debut in 2024 against Martin Lukeman before downing Luke Humphries last year. "Obviously some people might be saying, 'Oh, he's lost the last few majors, he's not beating him," he commented. "He might get beat, he might win.' But, yeah, I'm just happy that one's out of the way. I've got a day off tomorrow and, yeah, I'll come back on Monday."

He credited Beat Luke Littler from giving him a chance to reset and play some darts away from the pressure of the PDC Tour and the major stage.

"It's difficult, especially going into tournaments having won the last major. I was confident in everything, but obviously none of them went to plan. I think the Netflix show was just something different. It was a break from the majors and everything else, but, yeah, it was a good show. Now it's time for the busy end to the last month of the year."

There was so much hype when the draw was made, and Littler was partnered with Greaves in Group A. 'Beau 'n' Arrow' has already made a name for herself on the ProTour, winning a title on the floor while last year defeating the world number one in the World Youth Championship.

This time round, Littler has the bragging rights, but he could not ignore the amount of attention their clash was getting beforehand. "It's obviously difficult because it's everywhere, on every social media platform, but at the end of the day, you can't expect much," he stated. "You don't know what's going to happen until it's our time to go on stage, and obviously that's what happened.

"I couldn't let Beau win. I said in my pre-match interview that you need to get off to a strong start. Towards the end, she started coming back into it with the 180s, but I just had to stay as I was, play how I started and then finish it off."

The duo grew up competing alongside each other, and now the sky is the limit for the pair on the PDC Tour. "We've come through the WDF, the Youth Grand Prix and everything, and we've both played for England together as well – men, women and youth. So, yeah, we've both seen each other progress, and what she's done is brilliant.

"I think this year she's finally come into the conversation because a few years ago she wasn't really bothered. She could have just stayed on the WDF circuit and won the women's tournaments for the next 30 years if she wanted to. But, yeah, overall, I'm definitely glad she's on the tour, and she definitely makes you work."

With Niels Zonneveld also in the group, the first player to defeat Littler in a ranking event in 2026, it could have been a precarious situation for Littler, making this opening win so crucial.

"It's a very tough group," Littler acknowledged. "I'll be watching Beau and Niels tomorrow because, obviously, if Niels wins, then it's a straight shootout to win the group. If Beau wins, depending on how many legs she wins by, then I'll only need a few legs, maybe. But obviously I want to win and keep that 100% record here. I didn't think it was going to be easy either way, but, yeah, I'm happy to kick-start the tournament with a win."

Along with that, he has a 100% win record in this event he wants to keep in tact. "I want to keep it going. If I was to lose, fingers crossed I don't, but it is what it is. It's darts – we all lose, we all win. I still remember coming here in the first year, and I remember coming last year. It's all the same. The stage felt even better this time, a bit brighter, and the oche felt good as well. But, yeah, I'm glad to kick the tournament off with a win again."