World No 1 Luke Humphries continued his defence of the World Grand Prix title with a 3-1 win over Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko in the second round on Wednesday.
In a repeat of their thrilling World Championship match at the end of last year, Humphries showed his class in short bursts to get the better of Pietreczko and asserted his status as favourite for the tournament, following Luke Littler’s first-round exit.
Humphries, 29, will play Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals on Friday after the Welshman beat Ross Smith 3-1.
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“Ricardo played a fantastic game of darts,” declared Humphries, who averaged 92 and landed three 180s to book his quarter-final berth.
“If he played anybody else tonight he might have won the game, but I managed to scrape through in the end.
“Those six darts at the end of the third set were crucial. It could have been a lot different, but that 180 followed by the 130 won me that game.”
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Humphries dominated the first set by winning all three legs but Pietreczko raised his game and broke his opponent at the end of the second set to level up the match.
Pietreczko missed a dart at D20 to break Humphries at start of the third, and the world champion punished him with a great 112 checkout (20, T20, D16) to hold throw.
A brilliant 130 checkout (T20, T20, D5) gave Humphries the decisive break to win the third and he stepped his foot on the gas pedal to win the fourth set, finishing off with the bullseye.
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Aspinall loses thriller to Joyce
Nathan Aspinall lost a thrilling opening match of the night to Ryan Joyce 3-2 after a deciding-leg shootout.
Remarkably, the opening 10 legs went to throw so the pair won a set each before Joyce got the first break of the match at the start of the third and went on to win that set.
Joyce was on the verge of victory in the fourth set when needing a 114 checkout in the deciding leg of the set. He hit T18 but missed the single 20, which would have left tops.
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Aspinall punished him with a superb 89 (T19, D16) finish to send the match to a last set.
At 2-1 up in the last set, ‘The Asp’ missed two match darts so Joyce capitalised and a final leg was required.
Joyce initially missed two match darts at D6 but Aspinall couldn’t find D18 to win the match and at the third time of asking, Joyce got D6 to knock out last year’s World Matchplay champion.
“I thought I held myself together really well in that final set,” reflected Joyce, who provisionally moves into the world’s top 32 for the first time.
“Nathan put me under so much pressure, but I’m absolutely delighted to go through. This is a tournament that I absolutely love playing in. I am 100 per cent certain I can win this title.
“I’ve prepared well for this tournament, I’m a dangerous opponent and I’m going to give it my best shot!”
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Cross reaches quarter-finals for first time
Former world champion Rob Cross booked his place in the last eight of the World Grand Prix for the first time in his career after a 3-1 win over Martin Schindler.
Cross sprinted to the first set but Schindler surprisingly won five legs in a row, but it was Cross who won the third set in a deciding leg.
Schindler was unable to find his best darts after that as Cross won the fourth set and will play Joyce in the quarter-finals on Friday.
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“I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations at this tournament, so it’s an amazing feeling to be in the quarter-finals,” revealed Cross.
“I’ve started to feel a bit more comfortable at times this year, so that’s improvement, and things are going in the right direction.
“I’m looking forward to Friday now. Ryan is a really strong finisher, and he reminds me a little bit of myself. I will have to improve, but I’m going to put everything into that game.”
Clayton sees of Smith
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Jonny Clayton, the 2021 champion, saw off Ross Smith in the evening’s finale despite ‘Smudger’ making a blistering start against the Welshman, landing 149 and 145 checkouts in the opening exchanges.
However, ‘The Ferret’ worked his way back into the contest, reeling off three consecutive sets to advance to his first televised ranking quarter-final since July 2023.
What’s happening at the World Grand Prix on Thursday?
Daryl Gurney, who whitewashed six-time champion Michael van Gerwen, returns to action with a second round showdown against 2023 semi-finalist Joe Cullen, who marked his return to Leicester with a terrific comeback win against an in-form Chris Dobey.
Gary Anderson, the 2016 runner-up, takes on Dutchman Mike De Decker with ‘The Flying Scotsman’ arguably the most in-form player on the circuit with the highest seasonal average than any other player on the PDC ProTour.
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Gerwyn Price continues his bid for a second double-start success when he takes on two-time winner James Wade, while two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall goes up against Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh.
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