BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix 2026 | Day One Preview and Order of Play
The 2026 BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix gets under way on Monday with eight quick-fire first round ties in Leicester.
The most lucrative staging of the historic double-start major sees 32 players competing for £750,000 in prize money at the Mattioli Arena.
The opening night features matches from the top half of the draw, with all eyes on reigning champion Luke Littler as he kicks off his title defence against in-form Luke Woodhouse.
Littler lifted this trophy for the first time courtesy of a 6-1 rout of rival Luke Humphries in last year’s final, and the teenager is bidding to become only the third player ever to retain the crown.
The world number one saw his dream of an unprecedented clean sweep of major titles crushed by defeat to Jonny Clayton at the World Series Finals little over a week ago but is out to maintain his unbeaten record in major ranking competition dating back to last October.
Littler will be determined to brush up on the profligate finishing which proved to be his undoing in Amsterdam and will be poised for a tough opening assignment against the world number 18.
Woodhouse picked up his first European Tour title at the Baltic Sea Darts Open earlier this season and has reached the second round in two of his three previous appearances at the World Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, six-time champion Michael van Gerwen looks to avoid yet another early exit in a TV major when he meets former semi-finalist Ryan Joyce.
Van Gerwen, who claimed his first major title at this event in 2012, is out to avert a third straight first round exit in Leicester, having lost in successive sets to Daryl Gurney and Dirk van Duijvenbode in his last two appearances.
The decorated Dutchman has dropped to ninth in the Order of Merit and is yet to reach the quarter-finals of any televised singles event in 2026 so far.
Joyce boasts strong pedigree in this tournament as one of the most clinical finishers on the circuit, with his semi-final run two years ago including wins over Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross.
Former champion Gerwyn Price opens up with a showdown against Polish debutant Sebastian Bialecki.
Price claimed this title behind closed doors in 2020 and has since finished runner-up in 2021 and 2023, with his last first round defeat coming back in 2019.
The Welshman heads to Leicester on the back of his runner-up spot at the World Series Finals, continuing a consistent year on the televised stages which has seen him reach at least the semi-final stage of every major following the World Championship.
Bialecki has enjoyed a breakthrough year which has seen him pick up a second Players Championship title and reach the semi-finals of the European Darts Open.
Ross Smith looks to pick up from where he left off at the World Series Finals as he takes on Cameron Menzies in a repeat of their halted fixture at the World Matchplay.
Smith continued his sensational season by securing a first major title since 2022, adding to his brace of European Tour titles and Players Championships this year.
Menzies, who picked up a Players Championship title in Den Bosch last week, will feel he has unfinished business after withdrawing from the World Matchplay midway through his second round tie against Smith in July through illness.
Nathan Aspinall, runner-up in 2022, faces a formidable opener against Dutch debutant Kevin Doets.
Aspinall added to his European Tour title tally at the German Darts Grand Prix in April but has struggled to showcase his brilliant best on the big stages, with his most recent major quarter-final appearance coming at the Players Championship Finals last November.
Doets has enjoyed the best season of his career to date, securing his first ProTour title and finishing runner-up at the Austrian Darts Open, as well as making his debut at the World Matchplay.
Jonny Clayton, the 2021 champion, starts out against Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski.
Clayton reached the semi-finals here 12 months ago and has also reached that stage of both the Premier League and World Series Finals this year, notably ending Littler’s quest for a clean sweep in Amsterdam a week ago.
Ratajski has progressed beyond the opening round in his last four appearances at the World Grand Prix and landed his third European Tour title at the European Darts Open in July.
The opening match of the tournament sees Danny Noppert, twice a semi-finalist at the World Grand Prix, face former European Tour event winner Niko Springer – who is bidding for his first win on this stage.
A mouth-watering end to the evening’s action sees four-time major champion Rob Cross take on Wessel Nijman – undoubtedly the stand-out performer away from the televised stage this year.
Cross is bidding to improve on a torrid record which has seen him reach just one quarter-final in nine previous World Grand Prix appearances.
Nijman is eyeing his first win on this stage at the second attempt as he bids to retain the form which has guided him to a staggering six Players Championship titles and two European Tour titles this season.
First Round matches are to be contested over the best of three sets. All sets are the best of five legs and there will be no tie break in any set. All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before they can begin scoring in each leg.
WATCH THE WORLD GRAND PRIX STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | Geo Restrictions may apply | Please Gamble Responsibly
World Grand Prix 2026 Day One Schedule
Monday September 28
First Round
6pm-11pm
Danny Noppert v Niko Springer
Ross Smith v Cameron Menzies
Nathan Aspinall v Kevin Doets
Jonny Clayton v Krzysztof Ratajski
Gerwyn Price v Sebastian Bialecki
Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Joyce
Luke Littler v Luke Woodhouse
Wessel Nijman v Rob Cross
