Luke Humphries lost 10-6 to Danny Knoppert in the last 16 of the British Open in Minehead as Luke Littler and James Wade advanced.
The British Open was Humphries’ first major final in his career in 2021, but this time he never made it to final day due to his own failed double and his opponent’s strong double.
Knoppert is chasing his second British Open victory after winning in 2022, and his first big-stage victory over the world No. 2 player will boost his confidence.
Knoppert took a narrow 3-2 lead early, but then fell victim to Humphries’ double, giving “The Freeze” ample opportunity to pull away and take a 7-3 lead.
The struggle facing Humphries in the outer ring was evident, with the former world champion hitting only 3 of 19 doubles after 10 legs, with his chances of winning seven of them, his frustration was clear for all to see.
It looked like it was all but over as Humphries fumbled with a top, top finish and Knoppert broke the throw to take a 9-4 lead. However, Humphries scored, bringing the score to 9-6.
Despite the threat of a counterattack, Knoppert wrapped things up on D8 of the next leg.
“I’ve lifted it once, so why can’t I lift it twice?” Noppelt reflected after his spectacular show.
He must now face Littler, who continued his title defense with a 10-4 win over Gary Anderson in the last 16.
Until this contest, Anderson had been the best player of the contest, while Littler was arguably Planet Darts’ best player. With that in mind, a cracker of a contest was expected, but instead it ended up being Littler’s most convincing display of the tournament to date.
Anderson got off to a strong start in the first leg, but from then on it was all Littler’s work, finding another level with a 117 checkout and an 11-dart leg to break the throw and move to a 4-1 lead.
After losing five legs to a spin, Anderson managed to stop the rot, but still went into the final break with a 7-3 deficit.
“The Flying Scotsman” leveled up with comprehensive hold-of-throws, but it was too little, too late, as Littler maintained an average of over 100 and clinched victory with a 78 checkout in their second encounter.
Price makes incredible comeback as Wade soars past MVG
Wade defeated Michael Van Gerwen 10-3, averaging over 105.
Before play, there seemed to be nothing separating these two darters, but it became clear why Wade had a narrow 3-2 advantage in the first session with one break and two holds.
But the second session was all about ‘The Machine’ as his average of 106 reached new heights, taking four legs on the spin and recording an 11 dart break on the throw and a break of 124 on the bull.
Van Gerwen fought back with a break of his own, but Wade didn’t let up, and a further 11-darter break put him 7-3 ahead despite the Dutchman’s own average of 102.
It was clear that MVG couldn’t believe in Wade’s level, but the Englishman continued to live up to his nickname, running sensationally, grabbing the three legs he needed with twice as fast time and continuing his chase for his fifth win of the tournament.
He will now face Rob Cross, who dispatched Darryl Gurney at 10-6.
Meanwhile, Gerwyn Price moved from a 9-4 deficit against Keene Barry to advance six in a row to book a place in the quarter-finals against fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton, who beat Martin Lukeman 10-7.
Barry appeared to have the upper hand against ‘Iceman’, but then Price used incredible leg power, including two 12-darters and two 15-darters, to seal the deal with a 14-darter and an almighty 40-darter comeback.
To complete the quarter-final lineup, Josh Lock defeated Stephen Bunting 10-7 to set up a matchup with Krzysztof Ratajski.
There wasn’t much of a gap between Bunting and Locke, and the two were crushing each other throughout. However, the Northern Irishman took control with a superb 107 checkout to take a 6-4 lead.
Lock kept his cool and found a break in the throw with a power score in the 14th leg at a crucial moment to take an 8-6 lead, and a hold and break in the 17th leg was enough to force him into the quarters.
2026 Ladbrokes UK Open: Quarterfinals:
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Josh Locke James Wade vs Rob CrossLuke Littler vs Danny Knoppert Johnny Clayton vs Gerwyn Price
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