REIGNING CHAMPION LUKE Humphries was knocked out of the World Championship by an inspired Peter Wright in a major upset at Alexandra Palace.
Two-time former champion Wright turned the formbook upside down to stun big favourite Humphries, who was well below par in a 4-1 defeat.
Wright, 54, who lifted the crown in 2020 and 2022, fought back the tears after a convincing win in which he averaged nearly 101 and hit 70 per cent of his doubles.
After producing a 12-dart break to open up a 3-1 lead, Wright kept his foot to the floor, making back-to-back 13-dart finishes and then a 14-darter to close out the match in stunning fashion.
The world number 17 said afterwards: “Luke gave me a load of chances there, he didn’t play like he can.
“I’ve never had support like this in my life, thank you all. It’s amazing. I’ve been struggling for form all year and it’s so annoying because I know I can still play darts.
“I’ve never experienced anything like (the crowd’s support) in the world. Luckily I wasn’t playing Luke Humphries from last year because he was awesome.”
Former world champion Gerwyn Price earlier became the first man to book his place in the quarter-finals by defeating Jonny Clayton 4-2.
Price, who won the title in 2021, was rarely at his best against his fellow Welshman, racing into a 2-0 lead with an average of 107 before Clayton hit back to level it up at 2-2.
Clayton’s mid-match form then deserted him and Price, the 10th seed, got the job done despite only producing glimpses of his best, which saw him end with an average of 92.28 and a checkout percentage of 36.1.
Callan Rydz produced another brilliant display to book his place in the last 16 by whitewashing Dimitri van den Bergh 4-0.
Newcastle’s world number 43 Rydz has yet to lose a set at the Alexandra Palace and he will now play Robert Owen in the fourth round.
Rydz produced a 12-dart break to open up a 3-0 lead over Belgian world number 11 Van den Bergh, a semi-finalist in 2023, with a 110 average at that stage.
Owen, a part-time delivery driver from Bridgend and 77th in the world rankings, secured the biggest win of his career to beat Ricky Evans 4-2.
A seesaw battle tilted Owen’s way after Evans had missed two darts to go 3-1 up and the Welshman took full advantage, landing 140 on 20 occasions to win the final three sets.
Dutchman Kevin Doets produced a thrilling comeback to beat Krzysztof Ratajski 4-3 to set up a fourth-round match with 15th seed Chris Dobey.
World number 81 Jeffrey de Graaf will play third seed Michael van Gerwen in the last 16 after beating Filipino Paolo Nebrida 4-1.
Dutch-born Swede De Graaf sealed his place in the fourth round for the first time with a 10-dart finish in the final leg.
Hope he wins it i want him to win but littler my pick so one of them wins i be happy
@Shanie: anybody but that prik price
@Gary Galligan: haha his face is annoying same as richie burnette lol
@Gary Galligan: you’re not nice.
@Gary Galligan: Price is top class. Brilliant from Snakebite tonight. What a World Championship.
@Richard Ford: littler will Wolf price
@Richard Ford: Price is probably favourite for me at this stage. But if Snakebite plays like he did last night, he will win it out. Price v MVG and Wright v Littler semis?? Dobey dark horse. I won’t be betting on it, though.
@Shanie: I fancy MVG this year think he’ll ramp it up as the tournament comes into the serious side after today
@Noel Doherty: MVG has every chance also Noel. This narrative that it was a straight shoot out between Littler and Humphries was nonsense. Anyone can beat anyone on the day. Lads are often averaging over 100 and losing. That’s how competitive it is.
@Ray Ridge: ya ya ya you have every player as fave and picked them all littler is fave but i hope wright wins
@Noel Doherty: i dont fancy him this year dolan was unlucky v him i will stick with littler but i really want wright to win it
We’ll you’ve all heard of the 3 wise men. What about the 2 wise men who said Wright had no chance. As I said, it’s on the day between these guys. Anyone can beat anyone. Wright has won it twice in the last 5 years ffs. Of course, he can win it.
@Ray Ridge: that’s not what you were saying when Ireland were going playing the all blacks.
@Ray Ridge: I suppose Wright was one of your nine picks to win the tournament from your famously exhaustive list nine winners !
@Caballo Blanco: Absolutely. As I said it’s wide open. It was foolish to right off Wright. Pun intended.
@Caballo Blanco: he picked everyone lol the one he didnt pick he even said he forgot about him haha but i did say wright id love to see him win it but littler my pick
@Shanie: Remember Ray is not nearly as good at predicting sporting outcomes as the all knowing and seeing Octopus from the Cephalopod family Paul !
@Caballo Blanco: i havent met him yet
@Shanie: Unfortunately, he’s deceased Shanie, so you wont get to meet him lol. Paul the octopus was a famous octopus who correctly predicted the winners of several football matches, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup:
2010 FIFA World Cup: Paul predicted the winners of all seven of Germany’s matches, including the final against Spain.
Euro 2008: Paul correctly predicted four out of six of Germany’s matches.
Overall: Paul’s success rate was 87%.
@Caballo Blanco: Ray’s about 12 percent success rate on the predictions !
Odd picture to present as part of the article
@Joe Beirne: its a lovely pic