PDC World Darts Championship Round-up | Luke Humphries pips resurgent Gabriel Clemens in thriller while Michael van Gerwen sets up last-16 tie with Anderson

Luke Humphries fended off a very competitive Gabriel Clemens 4-2 in the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship in an exciting night of action.

Clemens had not dropped a set before facing Humphries in this event and was broken just once in matchups against Alex Spellman and Wessel Nijman. This form was not going to continue as the world number two won three legs on the spin to take the first set.

He began the second set with a clinical 101 outshot for a 12-darter. While Clemens levelled up straight away, he was unable to do anything about Cool Hand Luke running away with the set. He averaged close to 109 in that set to move further clear of the German.

However, the German Giant was not going out without a fight. After finding himself 2-0 down in the third set, he took out 125 with two bull’s before an 11-darter on double 16 got him level. The problem was he was against Humphries. The Englishman won the deciding leg in 12 darts to wrap up the set and dash Clemens hopes of getting a set on the board.

Clemans began with a 12-darter on double 13 before a 121 on the bull cemented the prior break of throw to edge him ahead. He was playing some stunning darts in this set averaging over 120 in the set while over a ton in the match. He completed what was possibly his best set of darts ever with a 116 checkout on double 18.

A fourth consecutive leg could have been in 12 darts, but a 15-darter will have to do for the former semi-finalist to edge ahead. The reply from Clemens was perfect. An 11-darter moved him within one of the set but a 170 checkout from Humphries was an outstanding checkout to keep him in this set. He could do nothing about a 15-darter in the Clemens throw as he continued to please the German contingent in the crowd.

Humphries kept his cool despite finding himself on double five. He snuck ahead but the former world number one was sticking with him. Clemens had set darts to level this exhilarating contest up but squandered them as Humphries came back to take out a clutch checkout of 81 on double 13 for the match and a spot in the next round. Despite Clemens averaging over a ton for the first time on this stage, Humphries proved to be too good in the end.

Michael van Gerwen produced a convincing displaynto defeat Arno Merk 4-1. It was a slow start by van Gerwen’s high standards by two out of two on the doubles saw him go 2-0 in front. However, the German, who was the only one left in the event, found an 18-darter to get a leg and was threatening to force a decider but the Green Machine was up to the task and rounded up the first set with a 14-darter.

It would be another dominant set by the Dutchman. He snuck ahead before a 15-dart break followed by a show of emotion moved van Gerwen from a more commanding lead. He completed this with slight pressure from his opponent. While his scoring was not at his best, he was boasting a 66% checkout rate.

Merk showed his class with a 145 checkout on double 14 but an 11-darter from van Gerwen quickly shut down the threat. A 120 checkout from Merk was a firm way of saying that he is still around and confirmed his presence with a 67 outshot to confirm the set.

Mighty Mike took out 92 which was instantly levelled up by the German debutant. Sloppy darts from the three-time world champion were not punished as van Gerwen eventually got over the line. He then took out 55 in two to move 3-1 ahead and put himself in what seemed like a comfortable position in this tie.

Two 13-darters on the bounce for van Gerwen kept him in a great position to complete the contest in emphatic fashion. While Merk showed his credentials, he was not good enough to fend off against van Gerwen who sealed up victory and a matchup against Gary Anderson in the fourth round of this world championship, a repeat of the 2017 world darts championship final.

Gian van Veen had not won a match at Ally Pally before this campaign. He defeated Madars Razma 4-1 to Confirm his spot in the last 16. The signs from the beginning were very promising for van Veen. After missing doubles at the start, he quickly got in his stride, taking out 109 to accelerate into a 2-0 lead before overcoming a late break and darts to level from the Latvian to clinch the first set.

He continued to cement his stance on this tie. He broke early in the second set looking to run away with it, but Razma had other ideas. He pinned double 10 to break straight back but the Dutchman had enough to fend him off. He pinned double eight before going up the board to double 12 to complete a resounding second set and leave him halfway of triumph.

The Giant was rampant. He took out 80 after his opponent missed doubles to break before another brace of legs saw him comfortably take the third set. Razma was not happy, as he swiped the dart out of tops he pinned to get him up and running in the fourth set with force and anger. He had only won a possible three out of 12 legs at this point, and quickly getting left behind by the European Champion. He followed that up with an 82 checkout on tops to break before taking out 80 in two for a 14-darter to get a set on the board.

After averaging over a ton in the prior two sets, van Veen’s average drop to a dismal 84 in the fourth set. He turned this around in the fifth set with a clinical display. He took out 65 to move one away from the last-16 before taking out a brilliant 125 on double 16 to finish what he described as a ‘frustrating’ display despite averaging over 97 and pinning 57% of his doubles.