Luke Humphries kept his cool to defeat Michael van Gerwen 16-10 to reach the semi-finals of the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
Van Gerwen had impressed in his win over nine-dart hero Josh Rock in the last round, but some wayward finishing during the opening legs saw Humphries, who settled to hit four 180s, lead 3-2 at the interval.
Successive checkouts of 140 and 167 extended Humphries’ advantage at 6-3 before Cool Hand Luke headed into the next break 9-6 in front.
Dutchman van Gerwen, a three-time Grand Slam winner, broke back with an 11-leg dart following the restart only for Humphries to swiftly halt the revival with a 132 checkout.
Humphries’ consistent scoring continued – as did van Gerwen’s poor doubles conversion – to move within one of victory before landing double top to pull it off and eliminate yet another big name from the competition.
“In the end it was a good performance, the doubles were very scrappy at the start,” Humphries, who revealed he had changed darts mid-match, told Sky Sports.
“I didn’t feel nervous I was just trying to get in front of him too early because I know how good Michael is.
“It (the victory) is up there because everyone discounted me before we played tonight, but I just proved again I can beat the top players.
“He missed a lot of doubles, but I was there to pounce and take the chances when I needed them.”
In Saturday’s opening match, Nathan Aspinall beat debutant Alan Soutar 16-12 to secure a place in the Grand Slam semi-finals for the first time, where he will face Humphries.
Aspinall took command early on as he opened up a 4-1 advantage heading into the interval, before Scotsman Soutar recovered to level at 7-7.
A 142 checkout helped the Englishman re-establish his lead as he claimed the next five legs before Soutar cut the deficit back to 14-11.
Aspinall, though, eventually closed out victory on double top, finishing with a match average of 95.18 having landed seven maximums.
“At the end of that match I was really poor, and I have to improve tomorrow or I’m not going to be winning anything,” conceded Aspinall.
“I’m into another semi-final though, so I’ve got to take the positives, and I don’t think a big title is too far away.”
He's not the only one thinking that heading into a fascinating Sunday.
Grand Slam of Darts: Saturday results & Sunday schedule
Saturday November 19
Evening Session (7pm)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Quarter-finals (Best of 31 legs)
- Alan Soutar 12-16 Nathan Aspinall
- Michael van Gerwen 10-16 Luke Humphries
Sunday November 20
Afternoon Session (1pm)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Semi-finals (Best of 31 legs)
- Raymond van Barneveld v Michael Smith
- Nathan Aspinall v Luke Humphries
Evening Session (7pm)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Final (Best of 31 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
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