Luke Littler criticizes the format of the World Grand Prix: what is the problem for the favorite.

Luke Littler prepares for the toughest experience in darts

According to The Sun: Luke Littler is trying to avoid double trouble in Leicester as he gears up for his least favorite darting experience of the year.

The World Grand Prix starts on Monday at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, and bookmakers consider Littler to be the favorite for the tournament.

This tournament, which was previously held in Dublin for 19 years, has its specifics: the 501 limit can only start with a DOUBLE.

Littler, who is trying to claim the world number one spot from Luke Humphries this winter, has won six of the ten major PDC tournaments, beginning his career in January 2024.

However, he admits that he doesn't like the format of 'starting with a double, finishing with a double'.In his first appearance at the Grand Prix 12 months ago, he lost 2-1 in sets to Rob Cross in the first round.

On Tuesday evening, he will face Giaan van Veeyen, whom he considers to be his 'losing' rival.

Littler, who appeared at a showcase tournament in Skegness on Saturday night, commented: 'This is certainly the next big tournament for me. But I admit, I didn't enjoy it last time.'

“I didn’t like starting from a double. It’s one of the hardest tournaments to win.”

“There’s the World Championship, Matchplay, Premier League. But starting from a double — if you miss, you get into trouble!”

“I can’t say I practice starting from a double often, but of course, now it will be necessary — it will be easier to get used to.”

“Every year, we see someone hitting a three on 20 first and then forgetting,” he added.

“It will be tough. But we still have many darts this year.”

History of previous winners

Legendary Phil Taylor won this tournament a record 11 times before retiring in 2018, with Michael van Gerwen, a six-time champion, having the next best record, last winning in 2022.

In his last televised appearance, Littler lost 11-7 to Van Gerwen in the final of the World Series of Darts in Amsterdam.

It was an emotional moment for Van Gerwen, who is going through a divorce from his wife Daphne, hence he celebrated with one of his children, returning to victory after a two-year break.

Now the question is — will he be able to repeat that success in the East Midlands this week?

“As I already said on stage, ‘Michael, did you return?’”

“Of course, he played very well, but for us players, he just needs to maintain that level of play outside of his country and, hopefully, manage to perform in England.”

Littler also noted: there is always huge expectation on players regarding their averages.

“In my first two games at the World Finals, my average was 94-96, but that was enough to win.”

“If we play at a good level, we will certainly see average scores around 100.”

This week’s champion Mike De Decker opens the tournament in a bout against Peter Wright, with the winner facing Littler or Van Veeyen in the next round.

A highlight of the first night will be the veterans Garry Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld, who together own seven world titles and have a combined age of 112 years.

Luke Littler spoke during the opening ceremony of the dart pop-up ‘Target Darts’ in Manchester.

The upcoming World Grand Prix promises to be extremely interesting, as top dart players are gathered, ready to compete for the prestigious title. It will be particularly interesting to watch Littler, who is on a career high, and how he handles the mental stress of this challenging format of the competition. Previous experience may play a key role in his performance.