Grand Slam of Darts: Littler begins title defence against Greaves and Zonneveld
World number one Luke Littler opens his bid for a third straight Grand Slam of Darts title in Wolverhampton against a group containing Beau Greaves and Niels Zonneveld, the man who beat him in their only previous meeting.
The 2026 Grand Slam of Darts begins on Saturday in Wolverhampton, with world number one Luke Littler defending the title he won twelve months ago, according to BBC Darts.
Littler beat Luke Humphries 16-11 in last year's final to claim the Grand Slam and rise to world number one for the first time.
This year's edition expands to 48 players, who are first split into 16 groups of three for a round-robin phase rather than the straight knockout used in most of the PDC's majors, BBC Darts reported.
Each player faces two group opponents in matches played to best of nine legs, or first to five. Two points are awarded for a win, and only the group winner advances to the last 16, where the tournament reverts to a straight knockout format.
Should players finish level on points, the tie-breakers are highest total tournament average and then highest winning match average, both calculated to two decimal places.
The knockout rounds step up in length as the tournament progresses: second-round matches are best of 19 legs, or first to 10, while the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are played to best of 31, or first to 16.
Littler's opening group pairs him with Beau Greaves and Niels Zonneveld, with his first televised match of the week coming against Greaves, according to Yahoo Sports, citing The Sporting News.
Zonneveld carries a psychological edge into the meeting, having beaten Littler in their only previous encounter, a ranking match earlier this year played in a similar format, as noted by both BBC Darts and Yahoo Sports.
Yahoo Sports, via The Sporting News, pointed out that Littler has failed to reach the semi-finals in each of his last three majors since the World Matchplay, going out early at the World Series of Darts Finals, the Grand Prix and the European Championship.
Before that run, the outlet noted, Littler had won every major he entered to start 2026, underlining the scale of the dip in form that now frames his Grand Slam defence.
Despite that recent record, The Sporting News backed Littler to emerge from Group A, while expecting competitive contests from both Greaves and Zonneveld along the way.
The Grand Slam of Darts runs for nine days, concluding on Sunday, 22 November, with Littler's progress through the group phase set to be the early focus as he looks to add a third consecutive title in Wolverhampton.