Cool Hand Luke Humphries began the defence of his Winmau World Masters crown in imperious fashion, producing a stat-heavy, tone-setting performance brimming with maximums to dispatch Dave Chisnall.
The world number two was not flawless from the outset, initially allowing Chisnall to establish an early foothold as he searched for rhythm. But once located, it arrived with devastating force. A sublime second set, delivered at a scarcely believable 125.25 average, dragged the contest level and detonated the shift in momentum.
From that moment on, Humphries hit the accelerator, the scoring became relentless, and the outcome felt increasingly inevitable as he surged away to a commanding victory.Awaiting him next is namesake Luke Woodhouse, who was equally scintillating in the opening match of the evening against Martin Schindler.
The German played his part admirably, but Woody was, at times, utterly unplayable. The result was a ruthless whitewash, underpinned by an average nudging 109, as The Wall was dismantled with precision and pace.Top seed Luke Littler also progressed, though not without a momentary wobble against Mike De Decker.
It has been a testing period for the Belgian since lifting the World Grand Prix just over a year ago, yet he pushed the teenager to the brink, locking the contest at 2-2 in sets. Ultimately, Littler’s scoring power and composure told, and The Nuke edged clear to book a second-round meeting with Ross Smith.
Smudger himself faced a far-from-gentle introduction in qualifier Jimmy van Schie. Despite the 3-1 scoreline in favour of the Englishman, every set went the distance in a contest far tighter than the result suggests.
The reigning Lakeside champion saw his campaign come to an end, and if Smith harbours ambitions of adding a second televised major to his résumé, navigating past Littler represents arguably the most unforgiving task in world darts.
Many had Ryan Searle pencilled in to overcome Rob Cross, but it was Voltage who emerged victorious, largely on the strength of superior precision on the outer ring. The former world champion now faces stable-mate Josh Rock, who delivered a composed and professional display to extinguish the challenge of Connor Scutt.
Finally, Stephen Bunting lined up a mouth-watering second-round clash with Danny Noppert after rallying strongly from 1-1 down to defeat Jeffrey de Graaf. The Freeze developed something of a semi-finalist reputation last season and will be keen to break that ceiling this time around.
He began his campaign solidly with victory over Daryl Gurney. Noppert burst from the blocks, Gurney responded, and what followed was a grinding exchange of blows. In the end, it was the Dutchman who held his nerve and crossed the line first.
Friday 30th January Round One – Results
Martin Schindler 0-3 Luke Woodhouse
Ross Smith 3-1 Jimmy van Schie
Danny Noppert 3-1 Daryl Gurney
Ryan Searle 1-3 Rob Cross
Josh Rock 3-1 Connor Scutt
Luke Littler 3-2 Mike De Decker
Luke Humphries 3-1 Dave Chisnall
Stephen Bunting 3-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
