LUKE LITTLER has crashed out in the opening round of the Players Championship 11 – just days after Premier League disappointment.
The , 18, joined a host of star names at the event in Leicester on Tuesday.
has enjoyed a whirlwind 2025, winning his maiden world crown in January at Ally Pally.
The teenage sensation has since and Belgian Open, smashing records in the process.
Littler was drawn to face Dylan Slevin, 22, in Tuesday's opener in the East Midlands.
The Nuke was stunned 6-3 by the young Irishman, who averaged 92.74 to Littler's 90.11.
It is just the fourth time in Littler's career he has been dumped out in the first round of a ProTour tournament.
The loss came after the defending champion was KO'd in Berlin last Thursday.
Littler for the first time this season, going down to 6-2 to Chris Dobey.
Slevin, ranked No61 in the world, came into Tuesday's contest on a high after beating former world champ last week.
His win over Littler booked a showdown with Martin Lukeman in the next round.
But the Tipperary-native came up just short in a thriller, losing a the deciding leg to Lukeman and going down 6-5.
It was a disappointing return to action for , who was another big-name scalp.
The three-time world champion lost 6-5 to his fellow Dutchman Maik Kuivenhoven.
Mighty Mike was forced to miss last week's Premier League in Berlin due to a .
Van Gerwen reportedly suffered the ailment after
Former UK Open finalist Vincent Van der Voort, a close friend ofMVG, explained: “Michael hurt himself in the afternoon [before the event] – it was really unfortunate.
“He was trying on some shirts for his sponsor, and as soon as he put one on, he said something didn’t feel right.
“He could barely move his neck. He went to a physiotherapist, had a massage, even took muscle relaxants.
“He gave it a go, but it just wasn’t happening.
“We ended up going back to the hotel, packed up, and drove home. I was back home by 2am.”
