World Grand Prix schedule sends Springer into the opening match, Phil Taylor throws again & Littler hires Prem

Darts news 16 September 2026: World Grand Prix schedule with Springer in the opening match, Phil Taylor throws again, Littler with a pro chef, MvG before Amsterdam.

The main stories of the day

A Wednesday without a big stage, but with plenty to talk about: the PDC today published the order of the sessions for the World Grand Prix – and Niko Springer plays the very first match of the double-start major against Danny Noppert. Phil Taylor reveals that he is back at the board every day and gives Luke Littler some pointed advice. Littler himself brings a chef from the Premier League world into his team. Michael van Gerwen travels to Amsterdam as defending champion, where the World Series of Darts Finals begin tomorrow – accompanied by an honest assessment of his form from his friend Vincent van der Voort. And Gerwyn Price accepts a boxing challenge, at least verbally.

World Grand Prix: the schedule is set – Springer and Littler in the opening session

The PDC today announced the session line-up for the World Grand Prix at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, which starts in just under two weeks. For the first time the winner will receive 150,000 pounds. The first round is split across two evening sessions, followed by round two on two evenings, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

Defending champion Luke Littler plays his first-round match against Luke Woodhouse right in the opening session, as do Michael van Gerwen (against Ryan Joyce), Gerwyn Price (against Sebastian Bialecki) and Jonny Clayton (against Krzysztof Ratajski). The very first match of the whole tournament is Danny Noppert against Niko Springer. Should Littler defend his title, he would be only the third player to manage that at the World Grand Prix, after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.

Opening session (round 1):

Danny Noppert – Niko Springer
Ross Smith – Cameron Menzies
Nathan Aspinall – Kevin Doets
Jonny Clayton – Krzysztof Ratajski
Gerwyn Price – Sebastian Bialecki
Michael van Gerwen – Ryan Joyce
Luke Littler – Luke Woodhouse
Wessel Nijman – Rob Cross

Second session (round 1):

Chris Dobey – Jermaine Wattimena
Ryan Searle – William O'Connor
Josh Rock – Niels Zonneveld
James Wade – Joe Cullen
Gary Anderson – Damon Heta
Gian van Veen – Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Humphries – Dave Chisnall
Stephen Bunting – Andrew Gilding

Worth noting: should Springer get past Noppert, the winner of van Gerwen against Joyce awaits in round two.

Darts in Germany: Springer opens the double-start major

With the schedule published today, Niko Springer knows where he stands: he is the first face of the 2026 World Grand Prix and meets seeded Danny Noppert in the tournament's opening match. For the German it is a tournament with a special rule – every leg has to be opened with a Double or the Bullseye – and with a tough draw: Noppert is one of the most experienced players in the field. Springer is the only German starter in Leicester.

There was a German touch from the Netherlands today too: Michael van Gerwen announced in his livestream with Vincent van der Voort that streamer Knossi will be a guest on his channel. “He's definitely coming on my stream, we just have to find a date,” said van Gerwen. There is no firm date yet.

Story of the day: Phil Taylor is throwing again – and urges Littler to say no

Phil Taylor has revealed that he is back at the board for about an hour a day, goes to the gym and watches his diet. “We'll see what happens. Let's see whether I get my form back,” said the 16-time world champion. There is no talk of a serious return to the tour – Taylor speaks of “little things, for fun” and admits: “I play quite decently, but not like I used to. In a pub league I can hold my own.” He does not regret his 2018 retirement either: “That had been coming for a long time. I had made up my mind, and that was that.”

More interesting is what Taylor passes on to Luke Littler. He calls the 19-year-old “a phenomenon – he really is that good, he's brilliant” and believes he can attack his World Championship records one day. His advice from his own experience is less about the game than about the life around it: keep two accounts, put half the money aside for tax from the start – and above all learn to say no. Anyone who becomes famous sometimes has to disappoint people in order to prepare for what really matters. Taylor himself said yes to everything at first and nearly burned out because of it.

Littler: no more junk food, now a Premier League chef is cooking

Fittingly, it emerged today that Luke Littler is taking his diet another step further. The world number one has hired Jaedon Kay, a chef who supplies more than ten Premier League professionals – including several Manchester United players – with prepared, calorie-reduced meals. Littler invests around 150 pounds a week in the deliveries and made the partnership public himself on Instagram. The two-time world champion says he has already lost twelve kilos in order to have more stamina in long matches. For a player who was still celebrating his wins with kebabs and canned soft drinks during his World Championship breakthrough, that is a remarkable change of course – and it fits Littler's strategy of concentrating on the majors this season and deliberately building in breaks.

Van Gerwen before Amsterdam: van der Voort's diagnosis

Michael van Gerwen travels to Amsterdam tomorrow as defending champion, and of all people his close friend Vincent van der Voort delivered the most honest assessment of his form on the podcast “Darts Draait Door”. Van der Voort expects van Gerwen to lose his position as Dutch number two to Danny Noppert shortly – and warns against excessive expectations: “You can't make up two years in a week and a half.” Van Gerwen has been practising considerably more lately, but improvement takes patience. At the same time van der Voort is sticking to his belief: “I know what is still in him, and I really do believe in him.”

In the livestream with van der Voort – the two played practice matches and answered viewers' questions – van Gerwen himself gave an insight into the everyday life of a top player: “Everyone thinks they want my life. I'll give them a nice tip: just travel with me for a year.” The travel load is massively underestimated from the outside. Van der Voort categorically ruled out a return to the tour of his own (“No, no, absolutely not”), while van Gerwen announced that he wants to appear on his podcast later this year. He also praised Cameron Menzies as “fantastic” and commented cautiously on the slump of Dimitri Van den Bergh, of whom he still expects a lot. His opening opponent tomorrow: Daryl Gurney.

Price accepts boxing challenge – “if the money is right”

Gerwyn Price has kicked off the next round of his little boxing saga. After Welsh influencer Dean Alex (just under two million followers) asked him in the Instagram comments whether he should “send him into early retirement”, the former world champion replied: “If the money is right, I'll happily put you to sleep.” Alex then made the exchange public (“Wales against Wales!”) and tagged Misfits Boxing as well as promoter Mams Taylor. A fight remains barely realistic: the risk of injury to hands and fingers would be enormous for a darts professional, and Price's calendar is full – he plays Brody Klinge in Amsterdam this week, and the World Grand Prix is coming up too. So far there is no signal from Misfits Boxing that talks are under way.

Beau Greaves: “I can't play without glasses”

Quieter, but likeable: Beau Greaves talked about her supplier Specsavers – a partnership that could hardly be a better fit. “If I take my glasses off, I can't play darts,” said the Englishwoman, who plays practically every match wearing them. “Clear, reliable vision is a huge part of performance in darts.” She used to never buy her glasses in a shop; now the new pair arrives in no time: “I've never had glasses come by post that quickly – probably the best thing ever.”

MODUS Super Series: Evans and Cooper set the tone in Group A

On today's MODUS Super Series matchday David Evans and Henry Cooper each won four of their five games. Cooper lost only the head-to-head against Evans, Evans only against Kai Fan Leung. All the details on the table and how it unfolded are in our own tournament article.

Evans (4 wins): 4:3 van de Pas, 4:2 Cooper, 4:3 Howson, 4:3 Chrysospathis – 2:4 against Leung
Cooper (4 wins): 4:2 van de Pas, 4:2 Howson, 4:1 Chrysospathis, 4:0 Leung – 2:4 against Evans
Howson (3 wins): 4:2 Chrysospathis, 4:2 Leung, 4:1 van de Pas
Van de Pas (2 wins): 4:0 Chrysospathis, 4:2 Leung
Leung (1 win): 4:2 Evans
Chrysospathis (1 win): 4:3 Leung

Coming up tomorrow

Tomorrow the World Series of Darts Finals begin at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam with the first evening session (start 19:00 CEST, eight first-round matches). On the programme are Viktor Tingström against Dirk van Duijvenbode, Rob Cross against Ryan Searle, Karel Sedlacek against Ben Robb, Kevin Doets against Ross Smith, Stephen Bunting against Josh Rock, Luke Humphries against Jermaine Wattimena, Michael van Gerwen against Daryl Gurney and Gian van Veen against Chris Dobey. Alongside it, the MODUS Super Series continues with the next group day.