As we approach the Luke Littler vs Luke Humphries final in the World Darts Championship, why are there so many seeds pouring in from Ally Pally?
All expectations before the tournament were that it would be a battle of the Lukes in the final as Littler and Humphries continued to dominate the sport.
And nothing happened in the opening two rounds to suggest otherwise.
Littler didn’t have to get out of first gear as he picked up wins over Darius Labanauskas and David Davies, while Humphries looked equally impressive in wins over Ted Evetts and Paul Lim.
Bigger tests remain, but both have the ability to improve and it would take a brave person to predict that someone other than Littler or Humphries will hoist the Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3.
The new tournament format, in which seeded players no longer advance to the second round, meant that many high-profile players left before Christmas.
Former champions Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Michael Smith were all eliminated in the second round, with sixth seed Danny Noppert the highest-ranked player.
Seventh-seeded Chris Dobey and eighth-seeded James Wade also advanced to the second round, while 12th-seeded Ross Smith fell to the highest seed at hurdle one.
Michael van Gerwen remains at the forefront of the sport and is a title contender.
He has his own theory about why record numbers of seeds are being lost. “I always say the World Championships are a different animal, you have to prepare yourself in a really good way to be able to do some damage here,” the Dutchman said.
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Highlights of Humphries’ meeting with Paul Lim
Mardle: Don’t rule out MVG
Michael van Gerwen showed off his muscles as he advanced to the third round of the World Championships against William O’Connor.
Sky Sports’ Wayne Mardle did not rule out the possibility of back-to-back winner Anderson and three-time champion Van Gerwen, and admitted it would be “short-sighted” for anyone to rule out more upsets in a tournament that has already seen 17 seeds eliminated.
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Van Gerwen checked out 121 and 127 in straight legs against William O’Connor at Ally Pally.
speaking ‘Behind the body’The four-time World Championship semi-finalist said: “I don’t think it’s just up to Luke Humphreys (to stop Luke Littler). I think it’s really short-sighted for someone to look at what they’ve already seen from these World Championships and say, ‘No, that can’t happen.’
“We saw the way Wesley Plaisier did a lot of things to Gerwyn Price, we saw the way Gabriel Clemens did a lot of things to Wessel Nijman.
“There are certain things in life you can’t do, like playing poorly and beating Gary Anderson. To beat Michael van Gerwen you have to be world class on stage.
“If they lose, it will take an incredible performance to beat them. Michael van Gerwen reaches the final here when he is not at his best, so I wouldn’t rule it out.”
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Littler takes on his great rival Humphries in an exciting 24-hour challenge!
World Darts Championship: Round 3 Draw
top half
- Luke Littler vs Mensur Suljovic
- Damon Hetta vs Rob Cross
- Andrew Gilding vs Luke Woodhouse
- Wesley Frazier vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
- Stephen Bunting vs James Hurrell
- Martin Schindler vs Ryan Searle
- Johnny Clayton vs Nils Sonneveld
- Andreas Harrison vs Ricardo Pietrecko
lower half
- Luke Humphreys vs Gabriel Clemens
- Apsinal Nathan
- Ricky Evans vs Charlie Manby
- Gian van Vinh vs Madars Rajma
- Michael van Gerwen vs Arno Merk
- Gary Anderson vs Jermaine Wattimina
- Justin Hood vs Ryan Meikle
- Josh Rock vs Callen Reese
Favorite person, senior, future star
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Watch all 170 hits from the World Championships so far…
Three-time world champion John Part is delighted to see a mix of great performances from heavy favorites, seasoned players and rising stars.
The Canadian player said: “A lot of players see their opportunity as a real opportunity rather than a threat. It’s almost like rallying around the underdog.
“When one person wins, it inspires others…like dominoes falling! But we still saw some really cool fightbacks.
“Some have survived, others have not. But we have a great tournament ahead of us. The format looks long, but it could be very short. I think there will be some relief from the favorites that it will provide more security after Christmas.”
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Highlights from the match between Littler and Welshman David Davies
Part is backing Littler to retain his title, but believes the player still has what it takes to trouble ‘The Nuke’ in the tournament.
“Littler is not invincible, but he can certainly make the most of his skills and position himself well because when he gets into trouble he can get out of it. He can focus against a lot of adversity, but that is the biggest stage in darts.
“Everyone is susceptible to things snowballing out of control sometimes, so you have to be a professional and do your job.”
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky Channel 407 from December 10 until January 3). Stream darts and other top sports with NOW.
