Viktor Tingstrom stunned reigning champion Stephen Bunting on the opening night of the Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters, as Luke Humphries delivered a darting masterclass in Denmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day One of the year\u2019s third World Series of Darts event saw the eight PDC superstars go head-to-head against their Nordic and Baltic counterparts at the Forum Copenhagen, as Tingstrom stole the headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Swedish star survived seven match darts in accounting for Bunting, becoming only the third Nordic and Baltic representative to triumph in this event since its inception in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had some good memories in darts, but I don\u2019t think anything can beat this at the moment,\u201d revealed the 25-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be the third Nordic & Baltic player ever through in this tournament, happy days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just came here trying to enjoy it. I don\u2019t put too much pressure on myself. I don\u2019t have any pressure on me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tingstrom\u2019s reward is a showdown against 2021 champion Michael van Gerwen, who ran out a resounding 6-2 winner against two-time World Cup quarter-finalist Oskar Lukasiak in his last 16 clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries was Friday\u2019s outstanding performer, however, averaging 109.92 and converting six of his nine attempts at double to win through a high-quality affair against an in-form Jeffrey de Graaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI felt good there. The last four to five weeks I\u2019ve felt a lot more comfortable in my throw and I feel like I can play this level a lot more often,\u201d insisted the world number two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt just gives you confidence. I’ve had so many 100+ averages, so many good performances, and my doubles have been better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne thing that I’m probably guilty of is not winning many World Series events in my career. I\u2019ve played in about 20 or 30 and won two.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know that you normally have to beat three, really, really tough players to go on and win the title, but if I keep playing like that, then I’m going to stand a good chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries\u2019 next assignment will pit him against European Champion Gian van Veen, who conjured up a majestic 167 outshot to wrap up a 6-3 win against four-time World Championship qualifier Daniel Larsson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welsh duo Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price will also go head-to-head on Finals Day, following contrasting victories against Andreas Harrysson and Darius Labanauskas respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clayton opened his title bid with a six-leg demolition of the enigmatic Harrysson, averaging 104.86 and pinning 75% of his attempts at double during an all-action display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price also averaged north of 104 in a 6-5 win over Labanauskas, in a contest featuring a staggering six ton-plus checkouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, despite converting 120, 128 and 156 checkouts, Price was forced to survive a match dart at double 16 in the decider, with Labanauskas also landing a hat-trick of ton-plus finishes in defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, James Wade marked his first World Series of Darts appearance since 2022 with a comprehensive victory at the expense of Madars Razma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ten-time TV title winner delivered a typically clinical display to dispatch the Latvian 6-1, which sets up an enticing clash against World Champion Luke Littler on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Littler \u2013 eyeing a maiden Nordic Darts Masters crown in the Danish capital – accounted for Norway\u2019s number one Cor Dekker by the same scoreline, producing a stylish 129 checkout along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RESULTS Viktor Tingstrom stunned reigning champion Stephen Bunting on the opening night of the Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-13494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Round One
<\/strong>Jonny Clayton 6-0 Andreas Harrysson
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Viktor Tingstrom 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Oskar Lukasiak
James Wade 6-1 Madars Razma
Luke Littler 6-1 Cor Dekker
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
Gian van Veen 6-3 Daniel Larsson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"