Luke Humphries began his Paddy Power World Darts Championship title bid with a 3-1 victory over Ted Evetts on Saturday, as Paul Lim and Gary Anderson also advanced to round two.
2023/24 World Champion Humphries headlined the action on Day Three at Alexandra Palace and didn’t disappoint, crashing in eight 180s on the way to his round one triumph.
Humphries raced into a 2-0 lead with an average in excess of 105, restricting Evetts to just a sole attempt at a double.
Evetts rallied and claimed the third set, but the world number two saw out the final stanza in convincing fashion to confirm his place in round two.
“That’s probably the best I’ve played in the opening round of the World Championship ever,” said Humphries, who will now play veteran star Lim in round two.
“I got a little bit comfortable, but I managed to win the game. I’m not going to think that because I had one bad set that my performance wasn’t good enough - I’m going to take the positives."
Humphries will face Lim in round two, their first meeting since Lim beat the world number two on the opening round at Alexandra Palace five years ago.
“Paul Lim and I get on well, but of course it’s business in the next game," added Humphries.
“If I’m scoring the way I did tonight it’s going to be a tough one for him - it’s a game that I relish, playing a legend.”
Lim set a new record as the oldest player to ever win on the Alexandra Palace stage in his magical 3-1 upset over Jeffrey de Graaf.
The 71-year-old, who first appeared at the PDC's World Championship in 1997, capitalised on a missed set dart from De Graaf to lead 2-1 before wrapping up the match to a delighted Ally Pally crowd.
“What can I say? De Graaf is a great player - I just had the opportunity and I took it,” said Lim, who is competing at his 15th edition of the tournament.
“That’s what keeps me going for all these years, moments like this. This is the biggest stage we have in the sport, it’s the Super Bowl of darts.
“I don’t know why the crowd were on my side, but I felt the appreciation within myself.”
Anderson was another former World Champion to secure his progression into round two, fending off a valiant performance from Adam Hunt to win 3-2 and record a 16th opening round win in his 17th appearance.
The Scotsman had trailed 2-1, but averaged 108 in the fourth set and crashed in six 180s over the game to secure a comeback win.
“Thankfully, I got over the line,” said Anderson, who will face Connor Scutt or Simon Whitlock in his next match.
“There’s a lot of better players now compared to a decade ago. There used be 20 good players, now it’s 128.
“I just want to keep going so I can get a shot on the new stage next year.”
Elsewhere, Wessel Nijman blitzed to a 3-0 hammering of Karel Sedlacek, averaging over a ton and hitting 50% of his double attempts.
The Dutchman, who finished second on the Players Championship rankings this year, hit a 136 checkout to win the first set, setting the tone for his whitewash win.
Nijman will play Gabriel Clemens in round two, as the former semi-finalist also booked his place in round two with a straight-sets win over Alex Spellman.
Clemens took out a whopping 170 checkout in the second leg and restricted his opponent to just a solitary leg through the contest in the fastest match yet at this year's World Championship.
Luke Woodhouse advanced to the second round with a 3-1 triumph over Boris Krcmar, coming back from behind after the Croatian star took out 121 on the bullseye to snatch the first set.
Despite trailing, Woodhouse rallied, capitalising on missed darts from Krcmar to win the third set before finishing the job with a 15-dart break.
Meanwhile, David Davies fulfilled a dream debut at Alexandra Palace, securing a 3-0 win against Mario Vandenbogaerde to set up a round two clash with defending World Champion Luke Littler.
The Welshman - an NHS worker and part-time player who won on the Winmau Challenge Tour this year - glided into a 2-0 lead before sealing the straight-sets win on his sixth match dart.
Former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding got the better of 2025 Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree, taking a 3-1 victory courtesy of a stronger performance on the outer-ring.
Crabtree had threatened a comeback by winning the fourth set to reduce the deficit to 2-1, but Gilding exhibited an experienced display to win the final set in straight legs.
The darting action continues with a bumper double-session on Sunday, as former Masters winner Joe Cullen headlines the afternoon session in his match against promising youngster Bradley Brooks - a Players Championship winner this year.
In the evening session, world number four Stephen Bunting faces Sebastian Bialecki in the pick of the bunch, and former UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh locks horns with Darren Beveridge.
The 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
Click here for match stats & results.
2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Saturday December 13
Afternoon Session
Round One x4
David Davies 3-0 Mario Vandenbogaerde (3-2, 3-0, 3-2)
Andrew Gilding 3-1 Cam Crabtree (3-0, 3-0, 2-3, 3-0)
Luke Woodhouse 3-1 Boris Krcmar (2-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1)
Gary Anderson 3-2 Adam Hunt (3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Evening Session
Round One x4
Paul Lim 3-1 Jeffrey de Graaf (3-1, 1-3, 3-2, 3-2)
Wessel Nijman 3-0 Karel Sedlacek (3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
Luke Humphries 3-1 Ted Evetts (3-0, 3-1, 1-3, 3-1)
Gabriel Clemens 3-0 Alex Spellman (3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
Sunday December 14
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting v Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
Best of Five Sets