Peter Wright demolishes defending champion Andrew Gilding at UK Open, Luke Humphries comfortably gets past Benjamin Drue Reus

Peter Wright looked back to his best as he demolished the defending champion Andrew Gilding in the fifth round of the UK Open. Wright raced 8-0 ahead against a shell-shocked Gilding, who's title defence ends at the last 32 stage with a disappointing performance.

'Snakebite' averaged 101 and hit 10 doubles from 17 attempts as the 2017 champion continues to show signs that he will contend for major titles once again. He defeated Joshua Richardson 10-3 in his first match on Friday evening.

Luke Humphries comfortably saw off Denmark's Benjamin Drue Reus 10-3, with 'Cool Hand' now one of the favourites for the tournament. Reus, having his best run in a PDC televised event, failed to keep with Humphries' power scoring, being afforded just six darts at double. Humphries will not have long to wait to find out who he plays in the last 16 on Saturday evening.

Follow the 2024 UK Open via our LIVESCORE!

Mervyn King survived an almighty scare after almost seeing a 9-5 lead slip against Krzysztof Ratajski, eventually coming through in a last-leg decider. King seemed to be cruising into the last 16 for the first time since 2015 as the Pole failed to turn up for large parts of the match, but a mid-match surge from Ratajski put King under pressure.

In the final leg, the veteran missed two match darts, but Ratajski could not capitalise on this golden opportunity, missing two himself at his beloved D16. The Englishman was allowed back to the board and was not going to prolong the drama any longer.

Dimitri Van den Bergh has quietly gone about his business on the outer boards as he saw off Vincent van de Voort 10-6. Van den Bergh, a semi finalist in 2023, is one win away from reaching the quarter finals for the third time in five years. Van de Voort ran out of steam in the end, with just an 86 average, but the experienced Dutchman will be encouraged by this run as he tries to keep his Tour Card.