Luke Humphries cruised into the second round of the World Grand Prix on Tuesday evening, sweeping past Dave Chisnall in straight sets in Leicester — but before a dart was thrown, most attention focused on a striking cut on his forehead.
As Humphries made his walk-on at the Mattioli Arena, a sizeable gash on his forehead was clearly visible. The Englishman took to the stage with the wound for his first match since the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. It did not take long for social media to speculate about the cause, with several darts fans noticing the injury and wondering what had happened to Humphries in recent days. "Has Luke Humphries been in a fight recently?" one viewer asked on X. Another fan went for a less dramatic explanation and joked: "Luke Humphries has walked into a door." The exact cause of the injury was still unknown during the match, though Humphries himself appeared to be barely affected by it.
On the oche, Humphries made a routine start to his World Grand Prix. Against Chisnall he took the opening set 3-1, landing the decisive break in the fourth leg to put one foot in the second round. Chisnall had few chances to turn the contest around after that, as Humphries claimed the second set by the same 3-1 scoreline to seal a convincing 2-0 victory.
The win sends Humphries through to round two of the unique double-in, double-out event. His prospects in Leicester had already received a boost after the surprise early exit of defending champion Luke Littler. The reigning world champion was knocked out in the first round on Monday evening by Luke Woodhouse.