Luke Littler and Luke Humphries surge into quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals
Luke Humphries and Luke Littler coasted into the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals in Minehead on Saturday, while a host of in-form outsiders continued their charge.
Day Two of the season’s penultimate major saw the second and third rounds take place on a bumper day at Butlin’s Minehead, as reigning champion Humphries keep his title defence on track.
The world number one overcame Raymond van Barneveld and Damon Heta to step up his quest for back-to-back Players Championship Finals titles, having swept aside Gabriel Clemens on a dramatic opening night.
Humphries averaged 102.3 in defeating Van Barneveld 6-3 in the afternoon’s Second Round, before winning nine of the last 12 legs to see off Australian number one Heta 10-6 in the evening session.
“I felt like I had so much more to give there,” reflected Humphries, who remains on a collision course with rival Littler for a potential final clash.
“Luke is playing some absolutely phenomenal darts right now. He’s probably the best player in the world at the moment, but I know I’ve got a level to match that.
“Hopefully I can get to the final and give the fans what they want, but I’ve still got a couple of games to win before we can think about that. You cannot look too far ahead.”
Fresh from averaging 112.7 against Rob Cross on Friday, Littler maintained his breath-taking form with dominant wins over Ritchie Edhouse and Danny Noppert.
The newly-crowned Grand Slam champion came through an epic against Edhouse, missing double 12 for a nine-darter in a high quality contest which saw both players average 105.
Littler then backed this up with a 10-3 thrashing of former UK Open champion Noppert, averaging 104 and crashing in seven 180s to extend his winning run to ten matches.
“When I go on these little bursts, I feel like nobody can touch me in between,” said Littler, who has now climbed to world number four.
“I’m just very happy to win. I played really well against Ritchie this afternoon, and I felt comfortable tonight.”
The 17-year-old will now renew his rivalry with World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in the Last Eight, after the Belgian dropped just four legs throughout Saturday’s double-header.
De Decker averaged 101 in whitewashing Ian White in the afternoon, before running out a convincing 10-4 winner against Niels Zonneveld in the Last 16.
Ross Smith also eased through to the quarter-finals, following up a brace of 6-1 wins over Dimitri Van den Bergh and Wesley Plaisier with a 10-1 demolition of former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
Smith will now face Scott Williams, who moved through to his second televised ranking quarter-final with comeback victories over 2012 runner-up Kim Huybrechts and Jeffrey de Graaf.
Williams converted a trio of ton-plus checkouts in each game to continue his charge in Minehead, averaging 101 and landing a spectacular 170 finish to topple De Graaf 10-8 in a high-quality encounter.
Ryan Joyce maintained his impressive Minehead record as he made it back-to-back quarter-finals in this event, surviving four match darts to win through a dramatic tie against Cameron Menzies, before seeing off German number one Martin Schindler 10-6 in the Last 16.
Dirk van Duijvenbode continued his revival with resounding wins over Florian Hempel and Jermaine Wattimena, averaging 99 to wrap up a 10-5 success against the European Championship finalist.
Van Duijvenbode’s reward is a showdown with Challenge Tour star Connor Scutt – who eased past Mario Vandenbogaerde and 2018 champion Daryl Gurney to seal a spot in his first major quarter-final.
Earlier in the day, world number three Michael Smith suffered a Second Round exit at the hands of Gurney, with Dave Chisnall and Nathan Aspinall also crashing out at the same stage.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday, with the afternoon’s quarter-finals followed by the semi-finals and final later in the evening.
Players Championship Finals 2024 Day Two Results
Saturday November 23
Afternoon Session
Second Round
Main Stage
Kim Huybrechts 4-6 Scott Williams
Nathan Aspinall 3-6 Niels Zonneveld
Damon Heta 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Michael Smith
Raymond van Barneveld 3-6 Luke Humphries
Josh Rock 0-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Littler 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Stage Two
Cameron Menzies 5-6 Ryan Joyce
Dave Chisnall 5-6 Andrew Gilding
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 Thibault Tricole
Florian Hempel 3-6 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Mario Vandenbogaerde 3-6 Connor Scutt
Danny Noppert 6-4 Stephen Burton
Mike De Decker 6-0 Ian White
Ryan Meikle 4-6 Martin Schindler
Ross Smith 6-1 Wesley Plaisier
Evening Session
Last 16
Main Stage
Connor Scutt 10-3 Daryl Gurney
Jermaine Wattimena 5-10 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Littler 10-3 Danny Noppert
Luke Humphries 10-6 Damon Heta
Stage Two
Jeffrey de Graaf 8-10 Scott Williams
Mike De Decker 10-4 Niels Zonneveld
Martin Schindler 6-10 Ryan Joyce
Ross Smith 10-1 Andrew Gilding
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