Luke Littler will be taking note of Wayne Mardle’s warning after Luke Humphries was dumped out of the Grand Slam of Darts. Reigning champion Humphries suffered a chastening defeat against James Wade and failed to even get out of Group A in a dismal defence of his crown.
Humphries lost to Rowby-John Rodriguez on the opening night and needed to beat Wade on Sunday evening. Wade also found himself in a similar position having also been beaten by Mickey Mansell 24 hours earlier.
Sky Sports pundit Mardle has warned that no player is untouchable anymore and gave hope to lower-ranked stars wanting to win the £150,000 prize in Wolverhampton. Littler, whose form in television events has been strangely underwhelming, will be aware that he too could suffer a surprise defeat.
“The best player in the world is out. Anyone now will be thinking why can’t they go and win this,” Mardle said on Sky Sports.
“We’ve got to that point in darts now where no one is untouchable. When the top boys play well, they win, but when they play poorly, anyone can beat them.
“The last few months have proven that. The rest of the world will be thinking this might be their chance now the reigning champion is out.”
Littler eased past Keane Barry in his opening match on Saturday night, setting a marker for his rivals to match by winning 5-0. The 17-year-old still faces tough matches against Dimitri van den Burgh and Lourence Ilagan.
The Nuke is desperate to reach the knockout stage but will need to navigate though difficult clashes. He will play Van den Burgh in the late action tonight (Sunday) before meeting Ilagen tomorrow.
Littler told Sky Sports after defeating Barry: “I’ve been practising. Obviously, my major tournaments, it isn’t the best record. I just focused on tonight and I wanted to make a statement: I’m here to win.
“It’s just like watching the football, watching the Champions League – the group stage. I’ve been leading up to it, practising well. I’m going to enjoy it and I’m really glad tonight.
“I want to top the group but obviously everyone wants to. There’s a bonus for finishing top as well. I just want to get out the group stage and focus on the first-of-10 legs and hopefully go on and on.”
Littler suffered surprise first-round exits at the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix this year. He is hoping to make his mark at the Grand Slam of Darts over the coming week.