Luke Humphries has made it through to the World Grand Prix quarter-finals, along with James Wade, Gian van Veen and Niels Zonneveld. World number two Humphries, who won the tournament in 2023 and was beaten by the eliminated Luke Littler in last year's final, was a comfortable 3-0 winner against Jermaine Wattimena in Leicester.
The Englishman, who hit three 180s and had a highest checkout of 129, will play the Netherlands' Zonneveld, who beat Gary Anderson 3-1, in the last eight. "It wasn't the best performance, but it was a good performance," Humphries told Sky Sports. "I think I got in every time with my first three [darts]. When you are doing stuff like that, it is going to take a top performance to beat you. I've got a good chance of winning this. At the moment I am a bit up and down, but if I can put that right I am going to be tough to beat."
Wade has won the World Grand Prix twice - in 2007 and 2010 - and kept his hopes of a third title intact with a 3-1 win against Stephen Bunting. In a tournament where you have to start and finish each leg with a double, Wade took the first two sets and, despite losing the next, won the fourth to secure victory. Van Veen, who was beaten by Littler in the PDC World Championship final in January and could become world number two unless Humphries wins the title, won the first set against Ryan Searle but then found himself 2-1 down. He recovered to level before taking the decider to set up a quarter-final against Wade.
The second round continues on Wednesday, 30 September with Danny Noppert losing 0-3 to Ryan Joyce, Jonny Clayton beating Wessel Nijman 3-1, Gerwyn Price defeating Ross Smith 3-0, and Luke Woodhouse losing 0-3 to Nathan Aspinall. On Thursday, 1 October, Niels Zonneveld beat Gary Anderson 3-1, James Wade defeated Stephen Bunting 3-1, Luke Humphries overcame Jermaine Wattimena 3-0, and Gian van Veen edged Ryan Searle 3-2.
The quarter-finals take place on Friday, 2 October at 19:00 BST, with the order of play to be confirmed. The matches are: Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Joyce, Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries v Niels Zonneveld, and Van Veen v James Wade. The semi-finals are on Saturday, 3 October at 20:00 BST with two matches, and the final is on Sunday, 4 October at 20:00 BST with one match.
In the first round, Danny Noppert beat Niko Springer 2-1, Ross Smith beat Cameron Menzies 2-1, Nathan Aspinall beat Kevin Doets 2-1, Jonny Clayton beat Krzysztof Ratajski 2-1, Gerwyn Price beat Sebastian Bialecki 2-0, Ryan Joyce beat Michael van Gerwen 2-1, Luke Woodhouse beat Luke Littler 2-1, Wessel Nijman beat Rob Cross 2-0, Jermaine Wattimena beat Chris Dobey 2-0, Ryan Searle beat William O'Connor 2-1, Niels Zonneveld beat Josh Rock 2-1, James Wade beat Joe Cullen 2-1, Gary Anderson beat Damon Heta 2-1, Gian van Veen beat Dirk van Duijvenbode 2-0, Luke Humphries beat Dave Chisnall 2-0, and Stephen Bunting beat Andrew Gilding 2-1.
