Grand Slam of Darts Round-up | Luke Humphries pins nine-darter to secure victory against Michael Smith while Gary Anderson prevails against Beau Greaves in thriller

Luke Humphries made the crowd go berserk after pinning perfection in the Grand Slam of Darts. He found a nine-darter to get him over the line in a tight tussle against Michael Smith, with the world number one winning 5-3.

This quality was a long way off in the first leg, The duo missed 15 darts at double between them with Bully Boy eventually finding double five to hold. This was the first leg Humphries had conceded in this Grand Slam, and he soon put things right with after levelling. From here, the doubling was much improved from both players. Tops was a popular choice with it being utilised numerous times.

All of these were holds. Smith would have been happy with it as he was throwing first, but the chance of a break of his own came and went after missing double 16 for a 112 checkout. Humphries found tops and broke the throw a leg later. Smith had the chance to prevent that from occurring, but he could have done nothing with what would follow.

Humphries commenced with a 177 before firing in a maximum. The crowd’s expectancy and excitement rapidly rose as the former world champion walked up to the oche, looking to seal victory. He found two treble 20’s before directing his last dart into the top corner of the double 12 bed, sealing an important victory in perfection.

Beau Greaves and Gary Anderson played out a classic, with the Scot nicking it 5-4 in a match full of quality. It was a scintillating start for Beau ‘n’ Arrow, who broke the throw in the first leg with an 11-darter before taking out 102 on double 16 to assert her dominance. However, Anderson is no slouch. A 14-darter was followed by an 11-darter to level.

The pair were both averaging over 109 when Anderson took the lead for the first time in the match ahead of the 21-year-old pinning double six with ease to level at 3-3. They shared a leg a piece ahead of a tense last-leg decider. Both players began with sloppy visits, but it was the two-time world champion who produced a last-gasp piece of quality to edge the tie. A 103 checkout clinched him a massive win, keeping his hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title firmly alive. For Greaves, it is somehow two defeats in a row after a brace of stunning displays. She did not even miss a double against Anderson but leaves the oche empty handed, with her chances of qualifying for the knockout phase unfortunately over.

Luke Littler secured his spot in the last-16 after a 5-3 win over Connor Scutt, who kept Littler on his toes throughout. The Nuke began with a 121 checkout on the bull to break but was upstaged by Scutt who took out a phenomenal 170 outshot to level up. The breaks and ton+ checkouts were continued by Littler, who once again went ahead with a 102 outshot. Beforehand, he found his first 180 of the event. The match would stay on throw right until the world champion managed to get over the line on his favourite double 10.

Niko Springer overcame Michael van Gerwen 5-4 to top the ‘group of death’ to progress into the last-16. Van Gerwen missed a number of darts in the first leg to break, with Springer surviving. The three-time Grand Slam champion takes out 64 in two a leg later to settle him. He would then break the throw in the madhouse but was instantly pegged back by Springer. The German then followed that with a two-leg burst to go one away from triumph. The Dutchman was not going to let him run away with it, taking out 87 in three to break ahead of securing another last-leg decider in this evening session. It was Springer who took firm command, wiring two match darts before returning on double two, finding the red bit to prolong his hugely successful debut in Wolverhampton. Van Gerwen will have a showdown against Anderson for the final qualifying spot.

Stephen Bunting’s Grand Slam has not panned out the way he would have liked. A 5-4 defeat to Martin Schindler has suddenly abrupted his tournament ambitions, while keeping the German’s hopes alight. Bunting was living dangerously early on, escaping missed chances from Schindler to break to keep the match on throw. The clash would go the distance, with both of them missing match darts. It would be The Bullet who would rue his missed doubles for the match, as Schindler pinned double 18 to seal a hugely important win.

Nathan Aspinall overcame previous pain on the doubles in his last match to defeat Alex Spellman 5-2. The American got his first dart at a double in his seventh leg of the tournament, which he pinned to level at 1-1. He found himself 2-1 ahead before The Asp ticked off four legs on the bounce to sail to victory.

Karel Sedlacek defeated an underwhelming Darly Gurney 5-3. Gurney found himself 2-0 ahead early on. However, troubles on the outer ring, most notably at normally a very favourable double 18, opened the door wide open for Evil Charlie. He won four legs on the spin and should have made it five for a clinical victory but missed seven match darts. In the next leg, he would miss another three at double before finally clinching his first win in the event. As for Gurney, he is out.

The final event of the evening saw Alexis Toylo make a return to the stage. However, he was unable to pick off from his win against Bunting last night, losing 5-2 to a majestic Luke Woodhouse who averaged over 103. The Filippino started by setting him up on the bull for a 167 checkout. After taking an age to prepare himself, he pinned the bull for a cracking checkout. He doubled his lead before it was Woodhouse’s turn to go for the 167. Wisely, he set up double 16 and came back to take it out. He won two more legs to race into the lead before finding the double 20 bed twice to move one away from victory. He concluded the night's action on double 16, culminating a phenomenal win over a tricky opponent.