HUMPHRIES & LITTLER SET UP SHOWDOWN AT SWISS DARTS TROPHY
Luke Humphries and Luke Littler will renew their rivalry in the last 16 of the inaugural Swiss Darts Trophy on Sunday, after easing through their respective second round ties in Basel.
Sadly, the host nations run of success was extinguished as Ryan Searle and Luke Littler defeated the host nation qualifers.
Saturday’s second round saw 16 matches take place across a bumper double session at the St. Jakobshalle, as the sport’s biggest names entered the fray on Swiss soil.
World number one Humphries opened his title challenge with a terrific 6-2 success against Richard Veenstra, pinning six of his seven attempts at double to triumph with a 100.7 average.
“I’ve been struggling for something over the last couple of weeks, but that was a good performance tonight,” reflected Humphries, who is expecting another thrilling instalment in his rivalry with Littler.
“I think me against Luke is the big game in darts at the moment. “We both enjoy playing each other, so hopefully we can produce a classic and give the fans a great game.”
Littler – a winner of two European Tour titles in 2024 – overcame a sluggish start to end home hopes in Switzerland, running out a 6-3 winner against Host Nation Qualifier Bruno Stöckli.
Swiss World Cup star Stöckli started strongly in front of a partisan crowd of over 4,000 fans, but Littler proved too strong in the latter stages, winning four straight legs to avoid the upset.
“My new darts only came out a few days ago so I tried them out for the first time on stage tonight,” revealed Littler, aided by a stunning 145 checkout in leg seven.
“The crowd were on Bruno’s side, but that 145 [finish] really changed the game for me, and hopefully I can play a little bit better tomorrow.”
Top seed Dave Chisnall was one of several big names to crash out on Day Two in Basel, succumbing 6-3 to a resurgent Nathan Aspinall, who averaged 100.89 to secure his spot in Finals Day.
Stephen Bunting produced a brilliant mid-match burst to overturn a 4-1 deficit against world number two Michael Smith, following up 110 and 156 checkouts with a 13-dart hold in the decider.
James Wade mirrored Bunting’s heroics in his comeback victory over Gerwyn Price, winning four straight legs from 4-2 adrift, following up a 140 outshot with a match-winning 121 on the bull to extend the Welshman’s losing run on the European Tour.
Wessel Nijman followed up back-to-back 180s with a superb 11-darter to prevail in a last-leg epic against Chris Dobey, and the young Dutchman’s reward is a meeting with Wade in round three.
Elsewhere, Rob Cross recorded a ton-plus average in his 6-2 thumping of Andrew Gilding, which ended the former UK Open champion’s hopes of World Grand Prix qualification.
Cross will now set his sights on a meeting against his stablemate Josh Rock, who came through a quick-fire contest against Jermaine Wattimena to continue his impressive form.
Ross Smith – a two-time runner-up on the European Tour in 2024 – crashed in seven 180s in his 6-4 victory against Mike De Decker, which sets up a third round tussle against Raymond van Barneveld.
The Dutch veteran fended off a late fightback from Ricardo Pietreczko to book his place in the last 16, which edges him closer to confirming his qualification for next month’s European Championship.
Cameron Menzies was indebted to a clinical display of doubling as he prevailed in a high-quality affair against Danny Noppert, pinning six of his ten attempts at double to dump out the Dutchman.
Menzies will play Callan Rydz for a place in the last eight, after the Bedlington thrower accounted for Gian van Veen – a runner-up at last weekend’s Hungarian Darts Trophy.
Martin Schindler impressed in his 6-1 demolition of Sweden’s Anton Ostlund, while Daryl Gurney also eased through to round three at the expense of Czech trailblazer Karel Sedlacek.
Madars Razma survived three match darts in his comeback victory against eighth seed Damon Heta, and the Latvian will now play Ryan Searle, who demolished Host Nation Qualifier Roger Hertig 6-1.
The third round will take place on Sunday afternoon at the St. Jakobshalle, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper evening session.
Sunday’s afternoon session will begin at 1200 local time (1100 BST), with the evening session also getting underway from the earlier time of 1800 local time (1700 BST).
Live coverage of the Swiss Darts Trophy will be streamed through Viaplay, and through DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ worldwide.
2024 Swiss Darts Trophy
Saturday September 28
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Callan Rydz 6-4 Gian van Veen
Ryan Searle 6-1 Roger Hertig
Rob Cross 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Josh Rock 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Madars Razma 6-5 Damon Heta
Ross Smith 6-4 Mike De Decker
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Karel Sedlacek
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Danny Noppert
Evening Session
Martin Schindler 6-1 Anton Östlund
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Michael Smith
James Wade 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Luke Humphries 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Luke Littler 6-3 Bruno Stöckli
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Chris Dobey
Sunday September 29 (note earlier timings)
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Third Round
Josh Rock v Rob Cross
Luke Humphries v Luke Littler
Stephen Bunting v Martin Schindler
Ross Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Cameron Menzies v Callan Rydz
James Wade v Wessel Nijman
Madars Razma v Ryan Searle
Nathan Aspinall v Daryl Gurney
Evening Session (1800 local time, 1700 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order
—–ENDS—–
Images:Paul Targyik/PDC Europe
