Defending champion Luke Littler suffered a shock first-round exit at the World Grand Prix as he lost 2-1 to Luke Woodhouse in Leicester, on the same night that six-time winner Michael van Gerwen was also eliminated.

Littler won the first set, but was far from his best as Woodhouse spurned several chances at double to have taken the opener into a deciding leg. Woodhouse made no mistake in sets two and three, however, to see him pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the double-in, double-out tournament. He'll face former finalist Nathan Aspinall in the second round.

Following his stunning early exit, Littler posted on Instagram: "Well played @lukewoodly180 was a good game, good one to be apart of aswell. Both hit, both missed but Luke took his chance and nice week off now, all the best to Luke for rest of tournament." Littler signalled his intent to now attend the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, which features his beloved Warrington Wolves.

Woodhouse said afterwards: "Luke's not a robot. He's going to have days and weeks where he's not right on it. I hope people will take the time to appreciate how good he is and not give him a hard time. You might not see another Luke Littler ever again."