Peter Wright rolled back the years with an inspired display to overcome reigning champion Luke Humphries on a thrilling day of action at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Wright continued his bid for a third World Darts Championship crown with a remarkable 4-1 victory over world number one Humphries, converting 70% of his attempts at double to seal his spot in the quarter-finals.
The Scottish icon has endured a tumultuous 2024 season, but he was overcome by emotion after blowing the tournament wide open at London’s Alexandra Palace.
“I felt more confident playing Luke over this shorter distance,” declared Wright, who paid tribute to Humphries post-match.
“If I didn’t beat him in this round, I believe he would have retained his title, because I don’t think any other player would have got close to Luke over a longer distance.
“Luke [Humphries] and Luke [Littler] inspire me to carry on playing darts, and I know I can still play this game.
“I felt like I struggled throughout the whole game tonight. I’m over the moon with the result, but I know I can get better.”
The two darting titans traded blows in a compelling start to the contest, but Wright stole a march midway through proceedings, landing a two-dart 96 finish to lead 2-1 in sets.
Wright then fired in a brilliant 12-dart break to move a set away from victory, before delivering a three-leg burst of 12, 13 and 14-dart legs to end Humphries’ reign as World Champion.
The 54-year-old was joined in the last eight by 2020/21 World Champion Gerwyn Price, who fended off a spirited rally from his compatriot Jonny Clayton to complete a 4-2 victory.
The 39-year-old averaged 107 to establish an early two-set buffer, only for Clayton to reply with consecutive 121 and 141 finishes on his way to restoring parity at 2-2.
However, Price has vowed his best is yet to come after recovering from his mid-game slump to progress to his fifth World Championship quarter-final in the space of six years.
“I felt like I was playing really well in the first two sets, but I don’t know what happened after that,” reflected Price, one of three former champions left in the field.
“I probably wasn’t myself up on the stage today, but I’ll be myself from the quarter-final onwards.
“I know that if I play like I did in the first two sets for the rest of the tournament, then I’m going to be tough to beat!”
Sunday’s double session also saw the remaining four last 16 ties take place in the capital, as Callan Rydz, Kevin Doets, Rob Owen and Jeffrey de Graaf moved through to round four.
Rydz played down his title prospects despite another imperious performance, averaging 105.81 to complete a thumping 4-0 win against UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
The Bedlington star was in record-breaking territory midway through the contest, averaging 116 after the opening two sets, before closing out a straight-sets success to set up a clash against Owen.
“Of course I’m happy with that. I’m over the moon,” claimed Rydz, who also averaged 107 in his opening round whitewash of Romeo Grbavac.
“Am I one of the favourites? Absolutely not. I’ve not won anything compared to some of the players left in, so you can’t compare me to the likes of Van Gerwen or Dobey.
“Rob is a capable player, so I can’t look past him tomorrow. I’ve got to be focused from dart one like I was today and just get at him early!”
Owen booked his place in the last 16 with a battling 4-2 victory over Ricky Evans, reeling off three consecutive sets to preserve his PDC Tour Card in the process.
Evans squandered two darts for a 3-1 lead in sets, and that proved critical, as Owen won seven of the last nine legs to maintain his incredible run.
Elsewhere, Doets launched a famous fightback to sink Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski, surviving four match darts to move through to a clash against two-time quarter-finalist Chris Dobey.
Ratajski punished an abject start from the Dutchman to win the opening six legs, yet Doets fought back valiantly to reach the last 16 of a televised ranking event for the first time.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon’s opener, Swedish number one De Graaf defied a sluggish start to run out a convincing 4-1 winner against Paolo Nebrida.
De Graaf accounted for two-time World Champion Gary Anderson in round two, and will now face three-time winner Michael van Gerwen after overcoming Filipino trailblazer Nebrida.
The Paddy Power World Darts Championship continues on Monday, as the fourth round action draws to a close at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Luke Littler and Van Gerwen will be amongst the stars in action, as they take on Ryan Joyce and Jeffrey de Graaf respectively, while Nathan Aspinall faces Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko.
Click here for match stats & results.
Paddy Power World Darts Championship
2024/25 Sunday December 29
Third Round
Afternoon Session
Jeffrey de Graaf 4-1 Paolo Nebrida (1-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1, 3-1)
Kevin Doets 4-3 Krzysztof Ratajski (0-3, 0-3, 3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 3-1)
Callan Rydz 4-0 Dimitri Van den Bergh (3-0, 3-2, 3-2, 3-0)
Evening Session
Third Round
Rob Owen 4-2 Ricky Evans (1-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-0)
Fourth Round
Gerwyn Price 4-2 Jonny Clayton (3-1, 3-1, 0-3, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Peter Wright 4-1 Luke Humphries (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-0)
Monday December 30
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Fourth Round
Kevin Doets v Chris Dobey
Rob Owen v Callan Rydz
Ricardo Pietreczko v Nathan Aspinall
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Fourth Round
Stephen Bunting v Luke Woodhouse
Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey de Graaf
Luke Littler v Ryan Joyce