Luke Humphries’ stellar year already includes victories at the World Masters and the Premier League.
Luke Humphries showcased his talent, defeating Nathan Aspinall 2-0 to advance to the second round of the World Grand Prix in Leicester.
In a tightly contested first set, Premier League champion Humphries narrowly prevailed 3-2, despite Aspinall’s comeback, highlighted by a ‘big fish’ finish—two treble 20s followed by a bullseye—to win the second leg.
Aspinall struggled with the doubles, a crucial aspect of the double-in, double-out format. Humphries capitalized, launching into the second set with a commanding 156 finish.
Despite a slight wobble, Humphries secured the second set 3-0, setting up a second-round encounter with Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, who earlier defeated Germany’s Martin Schindler 2-0.
“It was a big game. Nathan is a fantastic player,” Humphries told Sky Sports.
“He struggled to get in a few times and he let me in with that 156, which was a big shot there to take the game towards myself.
“My scoring was a bit strange, they just didn’t want to drop in.
“Hopefully on Wednesday I can come back and be better.”
Stephen Bunting, fresh off his Swiss Darts Trophy win, defeated Germany’s Niko Springer 2-0. In a surprising result, fifth seed James Wade suffered a 2-0 defeat against Joe Cullen in an all-English affair.
The first round action continues on Tuesday, with Peter Wright facing 2024 Grand Prix champion Mike de Decker, Luke Littler taking on Gian van Veen, and Michael van Gerwen playing Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Monday’s results:
Luke Humphries 2-0 Nathan Aspinall
Gary Anderson 2-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Rob Cross 2-1 Wessel Nijman
Krzysztof Ratajski 2-0 Martin Schindler
Cameron Menzies 2-0 Chris Dobey
Joe Cullen 2-0 James Wade
Danny Noppert 2-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Stephen Bunting 2-0 Niko Springer
Tuesday’s matches:
Damon Heta v Luke Woodhouse
Ross Smith v Daryl Gurney
Jonny Clayton v Andrew Gilding
Gerwyn Price v Ryan Searle
Luke Littler v Gian van Veen
Michael van Gerwen v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Peter Wright v Mike de Decker
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
No alcohol allowed – darts heads to Saudi Arabia
How does Darts’ World Grand Prix work?