Luke Littler beaten by world No. 116 in huge first-round upset before World Matchplay

Littler has been knocked out of the Players Championship 13

Luke Littler was knocked out in the first round of the Players Championship 13 by Robert Grundy – who is currently ranked as low as No. 116 by the Professional Darts Corporation.

In 'The Nuke's' first game back at the oche since his victory at the Polish Masters in the World Series of Darts, he appeared to be off form – averaging a mere 79. The Milton Keynes-based event, part of the PDC ProTour season, saw the 17-year-old prodigy face off against a seasoned Grundy, 46.

And despite being tipped as a top contender for Tuesday's event, Littler stumbled at the first hurdle, losing 6-5. Grundy, on the other hand, seemed much more on point, with an average throw of 88.5 at the oche, and will now progress to play Patrick Geeraets in the next round.

Littler will now head home to hone his skills ahead of the World Matchplay next weekend, where he'll face stiff competition from the likes of Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price, among others. Adding to Littler's woes, the knockout at the Players Championship 13 comes hot on the heels of him being unable to compete at the World Cup of Darts.

Despite his talent, Littler did not represent England in Germany this summer as he isn't included in the top two Englishmen on the PDC's Order of Merit, reports the Express. 'Cool Hand' Humphries, who clinched victory over Littler in the World Championship earlier this year, is currently leading the pack with a whopping £1,492,250 in tournament winnings over the past two years.

Meanwhile, Michael Smith follows as the second top-earning Englishman with a hefty £1,031,500 in his kitty. In comparison, young darting ace Littler hasn't cracked the top five yet, trailing behind darts heavyweights Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall.

Despite his recent Premier League triumph and pocketing a cool £275,000, Littler is sitting at No. 25 on the overall earnings list. Meanwhile, Humphries and Smith were in fine form during the thrilling tournament, securing a bye through the group stages and then dispatching France in the round of 16.

The formidable pair continued their winning streak by defeating Northern Ireland 8-4 in the quarter-finals and Scotland by the same margin in the semis. The final saw them face off against Austria's Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic, where they emerged victorious with a stellar 10-6 win to lift the trophy.

An elated Humphries shared with Sky Sports after their win: "We really wanted this. We really believed we could win it and after that first game we played, we clicked. I felt the biggest buzz since winning the Worlds. I just hope we get to come back together and defend it together as champions."