Humphries Fixes His Doubles as Zonneveld Ends Anderson's World Grand Prix

A favourite is only as convincing as his worst night, and Luke Humphries had one on Tuesday. Two nights later, in the second round of the World Grand Prix, he gave a more persuasive answer: a 3-0 win over Jermaine Wattimena, a 10-dart finish and a starting-double percentage of 74. The lesson from Thursday is that the tournament's double-start format punishes the players who cannot get into legs, and Humphries, Wade and Gian van Veen all found a way in. Gary Anderson did not.

Humphries repairs the part that broke

The context matters. With defending champion Luke Littler beaten by Luke Woodhouse on the opening night, Humphries became the title favourite. His first outing did little to support the billing. Against Dave Chisnall on Tuesday he averaged only 80 and went at 26 per cent on his closing doubles in what was described as a scruffy 2-0 win.

Against Wattimena he averaged 94.11 and finished at 64 per cent on closing doubles, a big jump from the 26 per cent he managed against Chisnall. The more telling number, though, was his starting-double percentage of 74, which came as he peppered double 16 early in legs. In a format where every leg has to be opened with a double, that is the difference between pressure and control.

The 10-darter arrived at the start of the third set, and Wattimena twice hit the wrong double in the opening set. Humphries was not flawless, and he did not claim to be. He called it "a good performance" rather than his best and admitted he is "a bit up and down". That candour is useful. A player who knows which part of his game wobbled, and who has just watched it hold, is a harder opponent than one chasing a general sense of form.

Wade grumbles his way to a quarter-final

James Wade reached his eighth World Grand Prix quarter-final by beating Stephen Bunting 3-1, and he did it by treating the opening shot as a weapon. He hit 160 as his opening shot five times against Bunting. The sixth seed dropped his standards in the third set but was described as electric in the other three.

His verdict on the format was blunt. He called winning with a double start "hellish" and "really hard work", and said he did not feel anywhere near his best. Then came the self-aware line: he has "loads more gears to go", but "talk is cheap". Analysis: it is hard to imagine a better advertisement for a veteran's method. Wade is complaining about the format while exploiting it, and the five 160s suggest the complaint has not dented his scoring.

Van Veen survives a decider and meets Wade

The closest match of the night was Van Veen's 3-2 win over Ryan Searle. Searle hit a 167 checkout, the highest of the week, and threw for the match after breaking the Dutchman with a finish of 100 in the fourth set. He was broken straight back in the deciding leg of that set.

Van Veen had led 2-0 in the penultimate set before Searle pegged him back to 2-2. The third seed then won the final set 3-0. He admitted that when he was 2-1 down in sets he thought, "oh no, this is not how I want to go out". He also said double 16, so good for him in the first round, "kind of bothered" him on Thursday. It did not stop him finishing the job.

Analysis: Searle will feel he let a match slip, since he was one leg from it. For Van Veen, the bigger point is that he now meets Wade with the sort of win that can steady a seed. Wade, for his part, has shown he can start legs with authority.

Anderson's night goes wrong from the first three darts

Gary Anderson's exit was untidy from the start. Niels Zonneveld won the first set with every leg going against the throw. Anderson began the match by hitting single one and then suffering two bounce-outs. He was the victim of another bounce-out in the fourth set as he aimed for a leg-winning bullseye. Zonneveld then broke and closed out the leg to win 3-1.

It would be unfair to write Zonneveld's win off as luck. He followed an opening-round victory over Josh Rock with this one. The 28-year-old called it "one of the biggest things in my whole career", noted that his achievements had come on the Pro Tour and European Tour rather than "on the main stage", and said that becoming a dad meant "less sleep" but that he felt "in rhythm again".

Analysis: a debutant who has beaten Rock and Anderson in successive rounds is no longer a curiosity. Zonneveld's reward is Humphries.

The quarter-finals Humphries and Wade now face

Friday's quarter-finals, first to three sets, start at 7pm. The fixtures are:

• Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Joyce
• Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
• Luke Humphries v Niels Zonneveld
• Gian van Veen v James Wade

Humphries has improved but still describes himself as inconsistent, and Zonneveld arrives with confidence and nothing to lose. Wade and Van Veen present a contrast of experience and momentum. Neither tie looks straightforward, and the format leaves little room to recover from a slow start. Humphries has shown he can fix his doubles in two nights. The next question is whether he can hold that for a third.

Research: This article uses the archived evidence supplied for this story. Story inspiration: Sky Sports' original report.