Luke Humphries trumped Michael Smith to continue his pursuit of the Grand Slam of Darts title, as Gerwyn Price also progressed after defeating Ricky Evans in Friday’s quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World number one Humphries continued his fine form in his 16-8 triumph over 2022 champion Smith, averaging just shy of 105 in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries started in typically imperious fashion, leading 4-0 after hitting all four of his attempts at double.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2023 champion extended his lead to 7-3 – averaging over 109 at this stage – before Smith rallied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The St Helens star began his mid-game comeback with a ten-darter, missing double 12 for a nine-darter whilst Humphries simultaneously went six darts perfect – before rattling off another three legs to level at 7-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Humphries then went on a darting rampage, taking out a 138 checkout to begin a spell of dominance where the world number one won nine of the final ten legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries closed out a relentless second-half performance with an 11-darter to secure his third semi-final appearance at the Grand Slam in four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There’s a lot more in the tank and I can do better than that,”\u00a0admitted Humphries, who has averaged over 104 in both of his knockout games so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Since I slowed my throw down a little bit, I feel like I’m so much more in control, the first dart is more consistent and I believe I can get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Throwing slower does help me. Every dart you throw needs to mean something, so I feel like I’m a better player than I’ve ever been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Gezzy is going to push me and will work hard, but if I perform like that, I will put him under pressure a lot.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humphries will take on Price in the semi-finals, after the Welshman produced a stellar performance to see past Ricky Evans 16-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price began in magnificent fashion, storming into a 4-0 lead before Evans reduced the deficit to 4-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Welshman then defied a strong second session from Evans to recover his four-leg lead at 7-3, although Evans once again threatened a fightback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, after leading 7-5, Price did not have his throw broken for the remainder of the game, extending his lead to 14-9 with a 13-darter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three-time champion Price then closed out the game with a 12-dart leg and 101 finish to reach his fourth Grand Slam semi-final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I was edgy in that game a little bit, but I prefer that because it keeps me on my toes,” confessed Price, who has won the tournament on the three previous occasions he has made the last four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s mad how everyone plays their best game against me! Twice Ricky played well in this tournament and it’s twice against me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m here to win it. I’m not here just to take part. I haven’t fired on all cylinders yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When I’m in the semi-final, I need to play well if I’m going to win, and it’s going to be a battle no matter what.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quarter-finals continue on Saturday evening, as Luke Littler continues his defence of the Grand Slam with a mouth-watering clash against Josh Rock, whilst Lukas Wenig looks for revenge against Danny Noppert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quarter-Final<\/strong> Results: <\/strong>Gerwyn Price 16-9\u00a0Ricky Evans; Luke Humphries 16-8 Michael Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Luke Humphries trumped Michael Smith to continue his pursuit of the Grand Slam of Darts title, as Gerwyn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-6059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","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