World No1 Luke Humphries continued his bid for back-to-back World Darts Championship titles after easing through to the last 16.
While there was high drama in Alexandra Palace on the first day back after the Christmas break, where Damon Heta threw a nine-dart finish, Humphries enjoyed a serene evening.
He beat Nick Kenny 4-0 to set up a mouth-watering fourth-round meeting with two-time champion Peter Wright.
Kenny was unable to produce the form that saw him beat Raymond van Barneveld in the previous round and Humphries did not need to be anywhere near his best.
“It was one of those games I didn’t want to take for granted,” he said. “I expected a tough game and I wasn’t firing, I felt there is so much more to give, I felt there was more to come out of me.
“I didn’t want to give anyone an inch because they can take a mile. I’m not going to give up this world title without a fight, I wasn’t at my best but when someone pushes me I know I can come up with the goods.”
Earlier in the day Heta set the tournament alight on its resumption with a stunning nine-dart finish before bowing out.
The Australian, seeded ninth, achieved darting perfection in the second set of his match with Luke Woodhouse to earn a cool £60,000 payday. However, his joy was short-lived as Woodhouse won a thrilling battle 4-3, having trailed 3-1.
Heta was millimetres away from throwing a nine-darter in the previous round when he missed the double 12, but he made no mistake this time in the first match after the Christmas break.
Heta’s feat was the second time a nine-darter has been thrown in the 2025 tournament and the 16th of all time at the World Championship, following Christian Kist’s effort before Christmas.
As well as landing the Australian a hefty payday, it also saw a lucky fan in Ally Pally win a £60,000, with £60,000 also being donated to Prostate Cancer UK.
There were several other titanic battles, none better than Gerwyn Price’s sudden-death leg victory over Joe Cullen.
Price looked like he was going to have an easy night when he coasted into a 3-0 lead, but Cullen hit back to send it to a decider, which went all the way.
Cullen landed a ‘Big Fish’ 170 checkout to send the tie to a sudden-death leg on his throw but Price hit some big numbers to steal victory.
“That was tough, I just wanted to get over the winning line,” he said during his on-stage interview. “He kept coming back, the crowd were way behind him.
“I thought I was going to lose, but I kept in there right to the end and got the win. He played some good darts at the right times. I put myself in that position, I got myself out of it and I’m still in.”
Seventh seed Jonny Clayton also battled to victory after squandering a 3-0 lead against Daryl Gurney. Gurney then had six darts to send the decider to a tiebreaker but lost his nerve and Clayton stole a 4-3 win.
Stephen Bunting and Peter Wright, who was suffering from a chest infection, enjoyed much more safe passages with routine wins over Madars Razma and Jermaine Wattimena respectively.
