Luke Humphries did not have to put in an excessive effort Friday night to qualify for the quarter-finals at the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen. Benjamin Drue Reus was eased past in the first round.
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Humphries needed only 11 minutes to win 6-0 over the best darter from Denmark. 'Cool Hand Luke' recorded an average of 100.20 and a finishing percentage of 54.5 percent.
The reigning world champion immediately broke his Danish opponent with a 13-darter, after which Humphries was able to take a 3-0 lead with an 18-darter and a 100 finish. A 17-darter provided a 4-0 lead before Humphries sealed the match with a 90 check-out and a 13-darter.
Humphries was somewhat surprised afterwards about the way he had played. ''I was a bit sceptical ahead of tonight, but that was a decent performance," claimed Humphries.
The world number one did not have an ideal preparation for the World Series tournament in Scandinavia. ''Since the Premier League final I haven't had much time to practice and I didn't really perform the way I wanted to in New York, but I felt good tonight and hopefully I can improve Saturday.''
Humphries had another compliment in store for the Danish crowd afterwards, which thus saw their compatriot lose 6-0. ''It was an amazing crowd. I expected a hostile atmosphere but after the experience I've had over the last few months, I'm used to that now, and I don't let it affect me like I did at the start of the year."
The 29-year-old will return to action on Saturday night at the Forum in Copenhagen. Then he will meet Johan Engstrom for a spot in the semifinals. Engstrom surprisingly defeated Peter Wright 6-5 in the first round.
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