Luke Humphries moved into the quarter-finals of the Boyle Sports World Grand Prix with a 3-1 win over Krzysztof Ratajski, as Stephen Ponting crashed out in Leicester.
Humphreys – the 2023 champion and last year’s runner-up at Mattioli Arena – posted an average of 95.58 and fired a maximum of six goals, but was visibly frustrated at various points in a topsy-turvy contest.
The world No. 1 needed a decider in the first leg to build a two-set lead and lost the next set to Ratajski, before Humphries came alive by firing two more than 2 tons to seal the win and build on his impressive record in the double start event.
Luke Humphries is looking to reach the World Grand Prix Final for a third successive final
Humphries now faces a quarter-final meeting on Friday with Scotland’s Cameron Menzies, who beat former world champion Rob Cross 3-1 earlier in the evening, while fourth seed Ponting also suffered a second-round exit after losing to Danny Nobert by the same margin.
The final saw Gary Anderson bounce back to demolish Joe Cullen in straight sets and book a quarter-final showdown with Nobert, with the remaining four second-round matches to be played on Thursday.
How Humphries survives stuttering to book his place in the quarter-finals
The top seed raced through the first set in straight legs but missed three darts to break again in the first leg of the second, as Ratajski missed four darts in the deciding set in the first leg before Humphries grabbed a nervy leg in a double one.
A straight sets win for Humphries looked possible when he opened with 14 bets and produced his first 180 of the tournament in the next round, only for Ratajski to hold and then win the next two games to take the set.
Humphries is looking to win the World Grand Prix for the second time in three years
Humphries’ faltering finish continued when he needed three attempts on the outer ring to close out a 15-dart break at the start of the fourth set, but he fired a stunning 132 in the next set and responded to a Ratajski hold to secure the win with a stunning 104 finish.
“I was really frustrated with my scoring, because they wouldn’t back down“,” Humphreys admitted. “I got a little lucky on that second set, but then I started to slow down my shooting and started making those threes.
“Credit to Christophe. He played really well tonight. He’s a strong player and he puts you under pressure in every leg.”
Humphries now plays Menzies, who survived two sets of darts in his opening set against Kroos to take it in the first leg before taking the lead in the second set with straight legs.
Kroos started the third set with a 107 and edged the set after his opponent missed five darts to complete a 3-0 win, but Menzies scored 136 points in the second leg and recovered from missing three more darts to seal victory at the ninth attempt.
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Cameron Menzies produced an impressive 136 points in his match with Rob Cross, after missing five darts in the first leg.
Ponting revealed on social media that he was suffering from back pain during his defeat to Nobert, as he came back from two sets down to achieve a clean sweep in the third set.
‘The Bullet’ followed up a 68 finish with a brilliant exit of 125 to take the fourth set to a playoff, where Nobert took a 100 in a two-dart set to book his first quarter-final place in the event in four years.
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Stephen Ponting finds a brilliant 125 to temporarily keep his match alive against Dani Nobert – and celebrates it in style!
Anderson reaches the Leicester quarter-finals
The one-sided final saw Cullen win just one game and post an average of 68.05 during the 3-0 loss to Anderson, who continues his impressive run of form by reaching the quarter-finals of the PDC major standings for the 17th consecutive calendar year.
“Joe (Cullen) was not in attendance tonight,” Anderson said He told Sky Sports. “Playing against (James) Wade was really good. His starting tonight is what cost him – if he had scored earlier I think I would have been in the lurch.”
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Gary Anderson discusses his straight sets win over Joe Cullen and his hopes of challenging for the World Grand Prix
“My scoring came at the end there. It looked like my shot was on target when I hit the ball.
“Winning tournaments is getting harder and harder for me. Same goes for Peter Wright and a few others, but we are trying. Darts is fun for me now. I want to win. I will try (and win more trophies).”
Who plays on Thursday?
World No. 2 Luke Littler Headlining the events of the fourth night as he faces the defending champion Mike the Deckerafter shooting a par of 105 during a thrilling win over Gian van Veen in his opening match of the tournament.
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Highlights of the opening round match between Luke Littler and Gian van Veen, as the duo achieved two of the three highest averages in the history of the tournament
Three times final Jeroen Price Josh Rock plays and is the 2021 champion Johnny Clayton takes on Luke WoodhouseWhile the summer of 2020 Dirk van Duijvenbode Faces Darrell Gurney In the opening match in the evening.
Order of play (best of five sets)
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Daryl Gurney
Johnny Clayton vs. Luke Woodhouse
Luke Littler vs. Mike De Decker
Gerwyn Price vs. Josh Rock
The quarter-finals will be held on Friday, with the semi-finals on Saturday based on best-of-nine sets. Sunday’s final is a best-of-11 series, with the winner taking home the £120,000 top prize.
Watch Day 4 of the Boyle Sports World Grand Prix live Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event From 7pm on Wednesday, with daily coverage until the final on Sunday. Stream darts, football, golf, cricket and more without a contract with NOW.
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