Luke Humphries and Peter Wright have sealed victories to end the night at the Grand Slam of Darts in contrasting fashion with 'Cool Hand Luke' in particular hammering Ryan Searle with a sensational display.
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Humphries joins Jonny Clayton, Michael van Gerwen, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Raymond van Barneveld in reaching the Last 16 after averaging over 107 in a 5-1 victory over 'Heavy Metal'.
He produced four 180's and 5/9 on the doubles to send a statement out to the rest of the field with Searle himself averaging 103 but only getting a solitary leg to begin the tie.
This contrasted with Wright's win which should have seen Alan Soutar through to the Last 16 if six missed match darts hadn't had their way en route.
'Snakebite' took a 2-0 lead in the early stages and looked to ease towards victory in the Scottish derby but Soutar pounced to go 2-1 down instead of 3-0 down and he came back into the game.
Soutar made it 4-3 but missed three match darts in the eighth leg with two cruel bounceouts in particular proving fatal. Wright hit 80 to force a decider. Soutar again had three match darts but missed all three with Wright finally getting over the line.
'Soots' will now face Fallon Sherrock with the hope as well that Wright can defeat Nathan Aspinall to give him a helping hand after getting so close tonight.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
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HUMPHRIES HAMMERS SEARLE! 🧊
What. A. Performance. 🔥
Luke Humphries averages over 107 in absolutely dominating Ryan Searle, securing his spot in the Last 16 with a sensational 5-1 success!
#GSOD | Group H