Luke Humphries has set up a second round match with Paul Lim after his 3-1 win over Ted Evetts at the World Darts Championship.
The world No. 2 has declared war ahead of the tournament, aiming to take back the world No. 1 title from two-time world champion Luke Littler. He got the job done with a great start, averaging 98.58 points, 33.33 percent in doubles, and hitting the 180s eight times.
Now he has a unique shot at the rim in the second round. At 71 years old, Lim is the oldest ever participant in the PDC World Darts Championship and the oldest winner after defeating Geoffrey de Graaf in the opening round.
Humphries last faced Lim at this stage back in 2021, when the 2024 world champion suffered a 3-2 loss in the first round.
In the rematch, a completely different Humphries will face Lim with a host of major players, but he knows the crowd may not be on his side in this fight.
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Luke Humphries shares his thoughts on his match against Paul Lim in the second round of the World Championship.
Humphries told Sky Sports: “I started well and felt really good, but I fell asleep in the third set. To be honest, I probably relaxed too much.”
“Credit to Ted. He was hard on me when I wasn’t at my best, but I was able to find something special in the end. I’m really happy with how I managed to come back.”
(On facing Paul Lim in the second round) “It’s amazing. He’s a legend. The hardest thing for me is that he loves me to pieces.
“I talk to Paul a lot and he always says, ‘You’re my favorite player.’ It’s hard to go and play against him. The crowd will be against me, so it’s going to be a tough match.”
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Luke Humphries got this finish in the first round of the World Championship against Ted Ebbets.
In the first set, Humphries put on a clinic as Ebbets walked off the stage without blinking, averaging 104.86 and giving him enough momentum to rattle three legs with a spin.
Ebbets struggled a bit more in the second set, but could only take one leg, and a sensational 138 checkout allowed Humphries to extend his lead and establish his dominance.
But Ebbets took the third set and turned what looked like a parade for Humphries into a real contest. ‘Cool Hands’ found a score out of nowhere as T20 landed to seal the fourth set and set up the much-awaited rematch at the rim.
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Ted Ebbets may have lost his fight to Luke Humphries in the first round of the World Championship, but he won his fight against Ally Parry Wasp.
Lim maintains legendary status with return to palace
Lim lived up to his legendary status and pulled off a Christmas miracle with a 3-1 win over Jeffrey de Graaf.
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Paul Lim defeated Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
He appeared to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, and Alexandra Palace received every dart he threw at will.
That came in handy in the first set, as Lim broke De Graaf’s throw in the first leg before resolutely cleaning up on D4 for a 1-0 lead. However, De Graaf quickly found his maximum blow to level up the situation.
Still, the ‘Singapore Slinger’ was undeterred and found clutch attacking again, taking a 2-1 lead with a break in throws and a 100 checkout.
His strong finish took Ally Pally’s hustle to new heights and after holding the throw twice, Lim led the way with 56 points to cap off a monumental victory in his 27th championship, 43 years after his World Championship debut.
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Paul Lim shared his thoughts after defeating Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
“First and foremost, I’m grateful to be here and I’m grateful for this crowd behind me. Just being able to get here is an accomplishment.
“No matter how good you are, sometimes you’re going to miss a shot and you have to take advantage of that.
“I’m glad we were able to take advantage of that.”
“Luke Humphries, I’ve watched him over the last few years, he puts so much effort and time into what he does.
“He’s a good guy, a gentleman, a great player. I just hope something like that happens again someday. He’s a good player, but he can be beaten.”
Niziman will execute on his 2025 form, just as Clemens will execute.
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Wessel Nyman achieved this finish in the first round of the World Darts Championship against Karel Sedlacek.
Wessel Nijman put his 2025 form into practice with a 3-0 win over Karel Sedlacek.
In the first set, the No. 31 seed posted an incredible average of 111.17, the world’s best set to date, and left Sedlacek with an outstanding 2x power score, leaving no room for maneuver.
In the second set, Niziman kept his opponent at arm’s length with a maximum flow, and an on-point double break and slow break were key to the third set, pinning D12 and qualifying for the second round.
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Gabriel Clemens achieved this 170 finish in the first round of the World Championship against Alex Spellman.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Clemens won 3-0 over Alex Spellman in the canter, with the opening big fish highlighting the 2023 semi-finalist with an incredible eight legs on the spin.
Anderson overcomes fear as debutant Davis sets up match against Littler
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Gary Anderson has hit back at Adam Hunt’s ‘mind games’ following his first round win at the World Darts Championship.
Two-time world champion Gary Anderson overcame a huge scare as the ‘Flying Scotsman’ recovered from a 2-1 deficit to stop Adam Hunt in a deciding set with the help of six 180s and two Shanghai checkouts.
Andrew Gilding averaged 97.9 points and posted an impressive 161 checkout to defeat debutant Cam Crabtree.
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Andrew Gilding completed a 161 checkout against Cam Crabtree and received a thumbs up.
The former British Open champion sent Crabtree aiming for the best run of his career at Alexandra Palace with three wins and one loss.
David Davis scored a stunning debut victory in straight sets against Mario Vandenbogaarde, setting up a mouth-watering showdown with world number one Luke Littler.
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Debutant David Davies has shared his thoughts on facing defending champion Luke Littler in round two of the World Darts Championship.
The Welshman, who works as an area manager for the NHS, had to take annual leave to stay at Alexandra Palace, but is now guaranteed £25,000 to qualify for the second round.
Davis was in a bullish mood heading into his match against Littler on Sunday, December 21st. “I’m going to be the underdog in every game, but I deserve to be here.”
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After defeating Mario Vandenbogarde, David Davis will face Luke Littler in the next round of the World Darts Championship, and it was a tense finish!
Luke Woodhouse, who reached the last 16 of last year’s tournament, bounced back from losing the first set to win nine of the next 12 legs against Boris Krutschmar.
What’s next?
On Sunday 14th December, the World Darts Championship will feature even more spectacular double session matches live on Sky Sports Darts.
The afternoon session, starting at 12:30 p.m., will feature Richie Edhouse vs. Johnny Tata, Dom Taylor vs. Oscar Lukasiak, Richard Veenstra vs. Nitin Kumar, and Joe Cullen vs. Bradley Brooks.
Starting at 7pm, matches will be played between Lukas Wenig vs. Wesley Plazier, Dimitri van den Bergh vs. Darren Beveridge, Stephen Bunting vs. Sebastian Bialecki and James Harrell vs. Stow Bunts.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3rd. Stream darts and other top sports now.
