Luke Humphries launched his Paddy Power World Darts Championship campaign with a controlled 3–1 win over Ted Evetts on Day Three at Alexandra Palace, while Paul Lim and Gary Anderson also progressed to round two after memorable performances. The defending 2023/24 champion underlined his credentials early, firing eight maximums and averaging over 105 as he surged into a 2–0 lead, limiting Evetts to just one dart at double.
Although Evetts briefly rallied to take the third set, Humphries closed out the match with authority. “That’s probably the best I’ve played in the opening round of the World Championship ever,” he said. Reflecting on a slight dip, Humphries added, “I got a little bit comfortable, but I managed to win the game. I’m not going to think that because I had one bad set that my performance wasn’t good enough – I’m going to take the positives.” He now faces veteran Paul Lim, recalling their last meeting fondly: “Paul Lim and I get on well, but of course it’s business in the next game… it’s a game that I relish, playing a legend.”
Lim delighted the crowd by becoming the oldest player to win on the Alexandra Palace stage, defeating Jeffrey de Graaf 3–1 at the age of 71. “What can I say? De Graaf is a great player – I just had the opportunity and I took it,” Lim said, before adding, “That’s what keeps me going for all these years, moments like this… it’s the Super Bowl of darts.”
Gary Anderson also rolled back the years, recovering from 2–1 down to beat Adam Hunt 3–2. “Thankfully, I got over the line,” Anderson admitted, noting the depth of the modern field: “There used be 20 good players, now it’s 128.”
Elsewhere, Wessel Nijman produced a dominant whitewash, Gabriel Clemens impressed with a rapid victory, and David Davies marked his dream debut with a straight-sets win. With Stephen Bunting and Dimitri Van den Bergh among those set to feature next, the championship continues to gather momentum at Ally Pally.
Source: PDC.TV
