James Wade eliminates Luke Humphries at the Grand Slam of Darts as Littler and Anderson charge on
James Wade ended Luke Humphries title defence at the Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday, as Gary Anderson and Luke Littler sealed their knockout qualification in Wolverhampton.
A bumper double session at the Aldersley Leisure Village saw a further 16 group stage fixtures take place, with six players securing their place in the knockout phase.
Humphries, however, was a high-profile early casualty as he succumbed to three-time runner-up James Wade in a crucial Group A encounter.
Reigning champion Humphries had lost out to Rowby-John Rodriguez in Saturday’s opener, and a second straight defeat means that the world number one now cannot progress to the knockout stages.
Humphries kicked off the contest with back-to-back 14-darters and landed a superb 130 checkout to lead 3-2, but a tenacious Wade recovered from a sluggish start to reel off three consecutive legs for victory.
“I’m just really happy to win,” reflected Wade, who was beaten by Humphries in the semi-finals of last year’s event.
“Luke is the best player in the world. He’s a shining hope for fans around the world, but that wasn’t quite the real Luke up there tonight.”
Anderson and Littler were among the stars to confirm their place in the Last 16 on Sunday, with Gian van Veen, Ritchie Edhouse, Jermaine Wattimena and Mickey Mansell also sealing their progress.
Anderson made it two wins from two in Group G with a deciding-leg victory against Van Gerwen, averaging 105.2 and landing five 180s to edge out the three-time Grand Slam champion.
“It wasn’t quite as good as last night,” joked the Scot, who averaged 113.2 against Ryan Joyce on Saturday.
“There were a few loose darts and missed doubles, but I stuck in there, kept calm and nicked it!”
Grand Slam debutant Littler maintained his scintillating form with a commanding 5-1 win over Dimitri Van den Bergh in Group F, following up his 112 average on Saturday with a 107 average against the Belgian.
“I played very well once again which I’m happy with,” claimed the teenage sensation, who has dropped just one leg in his opening two matches.
“I knew if I won I would be through so it was all about the win tonight. Of course I want to top the group, but I can relax a bit now, and my belief is growing.”
Van Veen produced the third-highest average in Grand Slam history to book his place in the knockout stages, averaging 114.71 to thrash Stephen Bunting 5-1.
The Dutchman agonisingly missed double 18 for a nine-darter in leg two of the contest, before later producing a magnificent double-double 133 checkout on his way to victory.
Bunting’s solitary leg came courtesy of a spectacular 170 checkout, but the Masters champion now faces a straight shoot-out for qualification with Josh Rock on Tuesday evening.
“I am so happy with this performance,” reflected Van Veen, who also averaged 110.39 in his Group G opener against Rock.
“I didn’t think I could top my performance on Saturday, but thankfully I did, and to get through the ‘group of death’ with a game to go is a massive confidence boost for myself.”
In Sunday afternoon’s other Group H tie, Rock won four straight legs from 3-1 down to end Wessel Nijman’s hopes of qualification, as the Dutchman suffered back-to-back defeats despite producing another 105+ average.
Newly-crowned European Champion Ritchie Edhouse was the first player to confirm a place in the knockout stages following a 5-2 success against Connor Scutt in Group D.
Scutt now faces a straight shoot-out for qualification with former European Champion Smith – who defeated 2014 runner-up Dave Chisnall by the same scoreline to end the fifth seed’s qualification hopes.
Jermaine Wattimena continued his resurgence with a thumping 5-1 victory over 2022 Grand Slam champion Michael Smith, as the European Championship runner-up safely sealed his passage to the Last 16.
Smith will now go head-to-head with Mike De Decker on Tuesday, as the World Grand Prix champion preserved his hopes with a 5-2 victory over Mensur Suljovic.
Mansell will feature in the Last 16 of a televised ranking event for the first time after maintaining his dream start in Group A courtesy of a 5-3 win over Rowby-John Rodriguez.
Sunday also saw former finalists Rob Cross and Peter Wright suffer defeat in Group C at the hands of Martin Lukeman and Leonard Gates respectively.
Lukeman won five straight legs from 3-0 down to stun 2023 runner-up Cross and establish top spot in Group C, while Gates denied three-time finalist Wright in a gruelling affair to open his account.
Danny Noppert established control of Group B with a narrow 5-4 victory against Cameron Menzies, following up five 180s and a 170 checkout with a superb 11-darter in the decider.
Noppert will meet Martin Schindler in his final group stage game on Monday, after the German number one claimed his first points with a 5-1 win over Women’s World Champion Beau Greaves.
Ryan Joyce claimed five of the last six legs to defeat debutant Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-3, which sets up a winner-takes-all showdown against Van Gerwen on Tuesday night.
In Group G, Keane Barry denied PDC Asian Champion Lourence Ilagan by the same scoreline, producing a terrific 158 checkout on his way to setting up a pivotal clash against Van den Bergh.
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 Day Two Results
Sunday November 10
Afternoon Session
Groups B-C-D-H Second Matches
Danny Noppert 5-4 Cameron Menzies (B)
Martin Schindler 5-1 Beau Greaves (B)
Peter Wright 5-4 Leonard Gates (C)
Rob Cross 3-5 Martin Lukeman (C)
Dave Chisnall 2-5 Ross Smith (D)
Ritchie Edhouse 5-2 Connor Scutt (D)
Josh Rock 5-3 Wessel Nijman (H)
Stephen Bunting 1-5 Gian van Veen (H)
Evening Session
Groups A-E-F-G Second Matches
Keane Barry 5-3 Lourence Ilagan (F)
Ryan Joyce 5-3 Noa-Lynn van Leuven (G)
Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-5 Micky Mansell (A)
Mike De Decker 5-2 Mensur Suljovic (E)
James Wade 5-3 Luke Humphries (A)
Michael Smith 1-5 Jermaine Wattimena (E)
Michael van Gerwen 4-5 Gary Anderson (G)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 1-5 Luke Littler (F)
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