Luke Humphries’ stunning nine-darter victory over Michael Smith sealed Luke Littler’s place in the last 16 on day two of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
The world No. 1 ended the match with two great finishes. After really heating up the contest with an impressive 139 in the fourth leg, he kept his cool as ‘Bully Boy’ continued to fight back from injury.
With the match trailing 4-3 in his favor, ‘Cool Hand’ found perfection, winning 177, 180, T20, T20 and D12, sending the Wolverhampton crowd into chaos.
This was Humphries’ second televised nine-darter and fourth on the big stage.
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Humphries hits a nine darter to seal the victory over Smith.
“To be honest, I have no idea where that came from at the end,” Humphries said.
“It was a really bad performance for me in the beginning. I think this happens a lot in darts, I’m not used to it, but it felt like a lot of work out there and I didn’t feel good.
“Everything was perfect in practice. I didn’t feel bad, I didn’t have any injuries. I went up, but it was really bad for me.
“But you know what, my whole leg felt easy. When I hit the 177, it didn’t feel tight, but the 180 felt good, and as soon as I got that first high, going to 141, it was much harder because I had to change and stuff. But the first dart was great, and then obviously the second dart followed, and then it was a double 12.”
“I probably felt a little more relaxed about the fact that I didn’t play well.”
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Nathan Aspinall visited Oce on two contrasting occasions, playing against Alex Spellman in the group stages of the Grand Slam of Darts.
In the same group, Nathan Aspinall kept his Grand Slam hopes alive with a tough 5-2 win over Alex Spellman. Although Spellman is currently out, his final opponents, Smith and Humphries, are mathematically still eligible for one of the two spots in Group A, so he could still play a big role in the group.
Greaves suffers a crushing loss that decides the classic MVG vs. Anderson match.
Despite averaging over 100 points in previous tournaments, Beau Greaves failed to qualify for the next stage as he lost 5-4 to Gary Anderson in the Classic final.
Greaves went into action on the back of a full-fledged contest from Michael van Gerwen, who will face Anderson in a straight shoot-out on Monday after Nico Springer’s 5-4 win over the ‘Green Machine’. Nico Springer won 5-4 over the “Green Machine”, holding the nerve to hold the throw in the 9th leg.
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Nico Springer defeated Michael van Gerwen in the group stage
In the battle between Greaves and Anderson, Greaves took a 2-0 lead, but Anderson fought back with equal proportions, and both players had great performances with high averages and steady 180’s.
The Flying Scotsman punished Bow and Arrow as the match went to the decider, scoring a massive 103 and moving one step closer to maintaining his 100 per cent winning record in Grand Slams.
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Highlights of the Grand Slam of Darts group stage match between Gary Anderson and Beau Greaves
“She’s amazing,” Anderson said.
“We gave just about everything we had tonight to win the game.
“She will cause a lot of problems on the circuit next year.
“Until someone else comes along, she’s by far (the best women’s player), but I’d say that.
“I know Fallon (Sherlock) and Lisa (Ashton) are great players, but Bo is a little different.”
Littler guarantees continued Grand Slam defense
Littler secured a spot in the next round with a 5-3 victory over Connor Scutt, making his first defense of the television title and continuing his rise to world No.1.
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Grand Slam of Darts group stage match highlights between Luke Littler and Connor Scutt
The match got off to an exciting start with Littler hitting a break throw at 121 and Scutt fighting back with a 170 finish from “The Big Fish.”
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Littler scores an impressive 121 finish on the bullseye against Scutt
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Scutt played “Big Fish” on Littler.
But then Littler picked up his game, breaking the throw once more in the top 102 before holding it in style and closing out the match with his favorite D10.
Elsewhere in Group E, Karel Sedlacek delivered five legs in a row and finally succeeded on his 11th match dart attempt, knocking Darryl Gurney out of the Grand Slam.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Martin Schindler defeated Stephen Bunting 5-4, while Luke Woodhouse defeated Alexis Toiro 5-2 to send ‘The Bullet’ to the top.
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Alexis Toiro achieves magical 167 finish against Luke Woodhouse
Afternoon session: Wade and Creighton suffer early Grand Slam withdrawals
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James Wade saw the funny side of things despite being whitewashed against Gerwyn Price
Gerwyn Price turned his blockbuster afternoon match against James Wade into a one-sided sabotage, bulldozing Wade into a 5-0 defeat.
With this loss, Wade fell to the bottom of Group D and was eliminated from the competition. The match between Price and Springer was a direct shootout for the second spot in the next stage, as Ricky Evans won back-to-back by defeating Stefan Belmont 5-4 in the decision leg.
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Ricky Evans produced a magical moment in his group stage win over Stefan Belmont
Danny Knoppert fended off a strong challenge from Cam Crabtree to snatch a 5-4 win, while Lucas Wenig, playing in the Grand Slam of darts for the first time in his career, held his own to lose 5-3 to Johnny Clayton. ‘The Ferret’ is currently unable to qualify for the knockout stage.
In a tense match between Dutch rivals Jan van Veen and Wessel Nijman, Josh Rock put in a stunning performance to defeat Lisa Ashton, winning 5-0, with the former winning 5-3.
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Chris Dobey defeats Damon Heta in style
Jurjen van der Velde beat Martin Lukman 5-4 and the last dart of Sunday afternoon’s session went to Chris Dobey to beat Damon Heta 5-1.
What’s next?
The group stage will reach a critical moment on Monday and Tuesday, when the final 16 players for the Grand Slam of Darts 2025 will be decided. Anderson will face Van Gerwen for the final spot in Group G, while Humphries, Smith and Aspinall are all in contention in Group A.
Monday 10 November from 7pm (Sky Sports + and Sky Sports Main Event)
James Wade vs. Ricky Evans (Democrat)
Chris Dobie vs Martin Lukeman (B)
Stephen Bunting vs Luke Woodhouse (C)
Martin Schindler vs Alexis Toiro (C)
Damon Heta vs Jurjen van der Velde (B)
Gerwyn Price vs. Stephen Belmont (Democrat)
Michael Smith vs Alex Spellman (A)
Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall (A)
Who will win the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts? Watch live all week long on Sky Sports. Live coverage will continue on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm on Monday. Stream darts and other top sports now
