Darts
Luke Humphries is out of the Worlds after being beaten 4-1 by Peter Wright; Gerwyn Price beat Jonny Clayton 4-2 to make it through to the quarter-finals; watch every session of the World Darts Championship until January 3 live on Sky Sports
Digital Sports Journalist @MegWellensX
Monday 30 December 2024 00:02, UK
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Reigning champion Luke Humphries has been knocked out of the World Darts Championship by Peter Wright in the last 16 at Alexandra Palace.
Two-time World Champion Wright pulled off the shock 4-1 upset with an incredible 70 percentage on the doubles, 110.93 average and five 180s.
The Scotsman is now through to the quarter-finals on New Year’s Day, with Humphries left to rue his chance to be crowned back-to-back world champion.
With the victory confirmed and Humphries no longer a defending champion, Wright was in tears as the magnitude of what he had just achieved sunk in.
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“I have never had [crowd] support like this in my life. Thank you! I have never experienced anything like this. It’s amazing,” Wright told Sky Sports.
“I have been struggling with form all year, which is so annoying because I know I can still play darts.
“Luke gave me a load of chances and didn’t play like he can. I’m lucky I didn’t play the Luke of last year, when he was awesome.
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“I am a double world champion and I want to win it for a third time.
“I am not too old and you only have to play well for three weeks in a year. That’s all that matters.
“I thought I played rubbish tonight, to be honest. Hopefully I can play better and score better in the next round.
“With this crowd behind me, I have every chance.”
With the crowd firmly on his side from the walk-ons throughout, Wright took advantage against an out-of-sorts Humphries in the first set to clinch it in a decider, a silky 161 checkout in the second showing a glimpse of what the reigning world champion can do as he brought the game level at 1-1.
That didn’t deter ‘Snakebite’ and as he held his throw brilliantly with a 96 checkout for the third set on D18, he let out a roar, his doubling percentage keeping him firmly in control.
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From there, the crucial moment of the game arrived as Wright broke the world no 1s throw on tops to move 3-1 up and put the finish line firmly in his sights.
A clutch finish on the bullseye for 88, a 13-dart break of throw, then a clutch hold then cemented the upset as Wright showed why he is a two-time world champion in his own right.
Gerwyn Price will also return to Alexandra Palace on New Year’s Day after booking a quarter-final spot with a 4-2 victory over Jonny Clayton, his fifth quarter-final in six years.
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In the all-Welsh affair, Price put on a vintage display in the opening two sets with a 106 average, clinching a sensational 124 checkout and breaking his World Cup team-mate’s throw twice to solidify a comprehensive 2-0 lead.
After the break though, it was the ‘Ferret’ who came out firing, 121 and 141 checkouts in a whitewash third set getting him right back into the contest.
Price’s dull spell continued and Clayton capitalised, his doubling allowing him to pick up five legs on the spin and ultimately bring the game level, ‘The Iceman’ bombing his own doubles in crucial moments.
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However, the tide turned again in the sixth set as Price held his throw well and then with a break of throw in the seventh, put himself two legs way from victory.
A 65 checkout on tops then put Price a leg away and he finally clinched his match dart on D20 at the second attempt to bring the battle to an end.
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In a round three clash, Robert Owen picked up the biggest win of his life in a 4-2 victory over Ricky Evans, securing a spot in the last 16 for the first time ever and retaining his Tour Card.
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‘Rapid Ricky’ lived up to his nickname in the opening set as he quickly went 1-0 up in just six and a half minutes, two breaks of throw and a 126 checkout on the bullseye sealing the deal.
Owen then held his throw well in the second set to level the game at 1-1 but Evans overcame the Welshman’s near 98 average to hold his throw in the third set and move 2-1 up, Owen coming back once again in the fourth in what was turning into a scrappy encounter.
With the first four sets going the way of throw, Owen finally got his moment and broke the throw to put himself on top, whitewashing Evans in the sixth set to secure a career-defining 4-2 win.
Owen will now face Callan Rydz in the afternoon session on Monday December 30 for a spot in the quarter-finals.
In Sunday’s afternoon session, Callan Rydz knocked out 11th seed Dimitri Van den Bergh with a stunning display of scoring to win 4-0.
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Rydz blew away his Belgian opponent as he threatened to post one of the highest averages in the tournament’s history on his way to winning the first three sets, before sealing victory despite a slight drop-off.
The 2022 quarter-finalist ended the match with an average of 105.31, and has established himself as a contender for a maiden title at Alexandra Palace if he can continue producing such a fine level.
“It felt great. I was looking at the screen, saw the average and thought I’d bottle it! I am over the moon,” Rydz told Sky Sports Darts. “Dimi didn’t turn up but I didn’t let him turn up. I started well and if I keep that up then you never know.”
Earlier, Kevin Doets reached the last 16 at Alexandra Palace for the first time after surviving four match darts for Krzysztof Ratajski to win 4-3.
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Having knocked out former champion Michael Smith in the previous round, Doets made a slow start but came from 2-0 and 3-2 down to set up a last-16 clash with 15th seed Chris Dobey.
Ratajski, the 31st seed, had several chances to close out the match in the sixth set, first missing three shots at doubles in the fourth leg when leading 2-1, and then a look at the bullseye in the fifth leg.
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Doets nervelessly took out double four to force a deciding set and then broke as Ratajski missed four darts at double in the fourth leg of the decider, before cooly closing out the match on his own throw.
Jeffrey de Graaf set up a last-16 meeting with Michael van Gerwen by coming from behind to win 4-1 against Paolo Nebrida.
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The Filipino took a low-quality opening set before Sweden’s De Graaf steadily improved throughout the contest to reach the fourth round at Alexandra Palace for the first time, having gone out to Rob Cross in the third round last year.
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On Monday December 30, we have another bumper double session coming your way, live on Sky Sports.
In the afternoon from 12.30pm, we will see Kevin Doets vs Chris Dobey, Callan Rydz vs Rob Owen, and Ricardo Pietreczko vs Nathan Aspinall.
Then from 7pm, we have Luke Littler vs Ryan Joyce headlining the night, with Michael van Gerwen up against Jeffrey de Graaf, and Stephen Bunting facing Luke Woodhouse.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
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