World Grand Prix 2026: Luke Humphries begins title hunt with scrappy display as James Wade and Gary Anderson complete eye-catching comebacks

After reigning champion Luke Littler exited the tournament, the World Grand Prix has been blown wide open. Luke Humphries was one of the top names in action, looking to commence his campaign with a win but was less than convincing against Dave Chisnall in a 2-0 triumph.

‘Cool Hand Luke’ has reached the final in this tournament the three prior occasions, winning in 2023 before Mike De Decker and Littler scuppered his ambitions for silverware. Chisnall did not look to be a huge threat when on the oche. Humphries was wasteful at the end of legs, but very little pressure came back. A set dart was missed on double 18 as Chisnall broke back as double one came to Humphries' aid for the set.

While not totally convincing, he was allowed to be wasteful with Chisnall unable to make a dent. He took the lead in the second set as Humphries quickly dragged himself level. A 109 outshot showed a glimpse of what he could do as he broke to throw for the match. He missed double 11 for a show-stopping 124 finish but was afforded to come back after Chisnall bust 20 and completed the job on double four.

Humphries will, for the time being, move back down to third in the world, with Gian van Veen leaping above him. The Dutchman earned his first ever World Grand Prix win at the third time of asking with Dirk van Duijvenbode being swept aside 2-0 while fending off a late charge.

Van Veen averaged 106.47 this time last year in a tournament average but somehow lost to the eventual champion Littler. He was not set to meet a similar calibre of performance as ‘The Giant’ cruised to the first set against an unsettled van Duijvenbode.

The 2020 finalist had no rhythm and got nothing going as van Veen pounced. While also not at his best, he was not challenged for the first five legs. Van Duijvenbode finally came to life, preventing the whitewash before romping level in the second set with some sublime scoring. Two darts at double 16 were missed to keep in the hunt, and van Veen showed him how it was done to prevail on the World Grand Prix stage for the first time.

12 months ago, James Wade managed just two legs in an abysmal exit against Joe Cullen in Leicester. One year later, ‘The Machine’ was not going to make the same mistake. He prevailed 2-1 in a messy performance.

It was a 22 consecutive appearance for the two-time champion who found himself behind early. A 106 checkout came too late after sloppy arrows on the outer ring with Cullen capitalising. Wade struck back in the second set with an 81 finish on the bull, with his opponent languishing on 38. The two-time champion finally took the lead and seemed to be sprinting over the finishing line. Six missed match darts gave ‘The Rockstar’ a silver lining, but he wasted it as Wade finally booked his spot in the second round.

Gary Anderson found himself in a similar position. The 2016 runner-up survived a match dart and won the final five legs to beat Damon Heta 2-1 and make it six first round defeats for the Aussie in this tournament.

Heta nabbed an early break and stamped his authority on the set. Anderson had two chances to force a decider, but they came and went with Heta there to pounce. A 156 set the standard for the second set as ‘The Heat’, but that level was not continued. Anderson survived a match dart before a 115 checkout kept his hopes intact. An 81 and 107 finishes saw ‘The Flying Scotsman’ really compound Heta’s misery, picturing a dejected figure as Anderson pinned double 11 for the victory.

Stephen Bunting added his names to the big names in the second round after seeing off Andrew Gilding 2-1. Bunting was on the front foot from the start. The two-time semi-finalist is desperate for a deep run at major level and began his title quest with a break of throw. This was enough to see him win the set, taking eight chances to get over the line before double one got him out of jail. Gilding reversed the roles and broke the throw. His level rose as Bunting fell off slightly. A set-saver double nine was made redundant as Gilding sent the contest the whole way. The former Masters champion sailed into a 2-0 lead. He could not finish with a 124, but double eight was on hand as Bunting set up a showdown against Wade.

Josh Rock’s woeful record at the World Grand Prix continues as Niels Zonneveld picked up an incredible 2-1 win. It was a debut to remember for ‘Tripple Z’ who saw off one of the big names.

It was an erratic first set by Rock. He won the opening set despite his bull-one-bull route on 101 not going to plan. The rookie then ticked off three legs in a row to plough into a solid lead. He seemed to be charging over the finishing line, but ‘Rocky’ flipped the script. A 180 was followed by a terrific 151 checkout to keep his dreams alive. He had the momentum in the third and final set, but that quickly changed hands. 103 and 116 checkouts were a splendid response and again the Dutchman was one away. His trademark double 14 was on hand to culminate proceedings with a 133 outshot, sealing the win on debut.

Former semi-finalist Chris Dobey was not at his best in an underwhelming 2-0 loss against Jermaine Wattimena. Early missed darts to break set the precedent, as Wattimena eventually got over the line to seal the first set after a few squandered chances. An eye-catching 128 checkout got Dobey going, and he had the darts to level the tie. It was the ‘Machine Gun’ who edged ahead and pinned top to earn his first World Grand Prix win since 2019.

William O’Connor played his first World Grand Prix match in 11 years. However, four missed match darts meant that his wait for a maiden win prolonged as Ryan Searle prevailed 2-1.

Searle held three times in the opening set with 100, 64 and 103 checkouts. Those were the only three attempts at double in the first two sets, with O’Connor breezing clear and levelling the contest. A brilliant 64 outshot was followed by a couple of double 19s for a 95 finish with ‘Heavy Metal’ stranded on tops. Searle would survive a couple match darts to end a five-leg drought and would survive three match darts in the next leg to force a decider. O’Connor missed a fourth on the bull, and a relieved Searle pinned tops to end his Irish opponents' Grand Prix return with a whimper.