Luke Humphries continued his bid for a second BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix title with victory over Krzysztof Ratajski on Wednesday evening, as Gary Anderson stormed through to the quarter-finals in Leicester.
Day Three of the double-start showpiece saw Humphries maintain his title charge at the Mattioli Arena, courtesy of a 3-1 success against Poland’s number one Ratajski.
2023 champion Humphries pinned each of his opening six darts at a starting double, and his sustained brilliance on the outer ring catapulted him into a commanding two-set lead.
Ratajski had squandered four darts to level the contest at one apiece in a dramatic second stanza, although the Polish number one responded superbly in the third to halve the deficit.
However, Humphries found his range in the latter stages, following up an imperious 134 checkout with a match-winning 104 combination to set up a quarter-final clash against Cameron Menzies.
“I was really frustrated with my scoring, because they just weren’t dropping in,” admitted Humphries, also the World Grand Prix runner-up in 2024.
“I got a little bit lucky in that second set, but then I started to slow my throw down and I started to hit those trebles.
“Credit to Krzysztof. He played really well tonight. He’s such a solid player and he puts you under pressure in every single leg.”
Humphries will now take on Menzies in the last eight, after the emerging Scottish ace progressed to his second televised quarter-final with a dramatic 3-1 win against Rob Cross.
Despite squandering five darts at double for a straight-sets success, the enigmatic Scot regained his poise in the closing stages to back up his impressive opening round win over Chris Dobey with victory over another big-name scalp.
“I just kept trying to believe,” reflected Menzies, who provisionally moves into the world’s top 30 for the first time in his career.
“The missed match darts weren’t really badly thrown. They were all on the wire.
“Sometimes you just have to fight, be positive and believe in yourself, and I’m so buzzing to win.”
Elsewhere, Anderson and Danny Noppert will lock horns in Friday’s quarter-finals, after overcoming Joe Cullen and Stephen Bunting in their respective round two tussles.
Anderson raced through with an emphatic straight-sets win over 2023 semi-finalist Cullen, who was unable to replicate the performance that saw him dump out two-time champion James Wade in round one.
“My scoring wasn’t great tonight, but my finishing was good when it needed to be,” admitted Anderson, after advancing into his first World Grand Prix quarter-final in five years.
“It’s been a while - I was almost 50 years old the last time I made the quarter-finals here!
“It’s getting harder and harder [to compete], but we aren’t going to give up, and I still want to win.”
Noppert, meanwhile, produced a brilliant display of power-scoring to account for world number four Bunting, firing in nine maximums as he wrapped up a hard-fought 3-1 win.
The Dutch number two punished Bunting’s profligacy to establish early daylight, before defying a skin-saving 125 checkout from the battling Liverpudlian to prevail with a clinical two-dart 100 finish.
“I am really happy with this win. Stephen came back well, but I managed to stay focused on my own game,” insisted Noppert, a World Grand Prix semi-finalist in 2021.
“I started well tonight. My starting doubles were better than my first game. The double top worked today and it saved me a lot!”
Round Two continues on Thursday evening, as reigning champion Mike De Decker and World Champion Luke Littler go head-to-head for a quarter-final berth.
Former champions Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton take on Josh Rock and Luke Woodhouse respectively, while 2017 winner Daryl Gurney faces 2020 runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
Click here for match stats & results.
2025 BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix
Wednesday October 8
4x Round Two matches
Cameron Menzies 3-1 Rob Cross (3-2, 3-0, 2-3, 3-1)
Danny Noppert 3-1 Stephen Bunting (3-2, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1)
Luke Humphries 3-1 Krzysztof Ratajski (3-0, 3-2, 1-3, 3-1)
Gary Anderson 3-0 Joe Cullen (3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
Thursday October 9 (1900 BST)
4x Round Two matches
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Daryl Gurney
Jonny Clayton v Luke Woodhouse
Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
Gerwyn Price v Josh Rock
Friday October 10 (1900 BST)
4x Quarter-Finals - Order of Play TBC
Luke Humphries v Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert v Gary Anderson
Littler/De Decker v Price/Rock
Van Duijvenbode/Gurney v Clayton/Woodhouse