Overview
- Humphries surged 4-0 ahead, weathered a Michael Smith fightback to 7-7, then reeled off nine of the last ten legs to close out the win.
- Both players chased perfection in the same leg as Smith went T20, T19 and narrowly missed D12, with Humphries falling short on his seventh dart at T20.
- A 138 checkout against the throw at 7-7 denied Smith the chance to lead and shifted the match decisively in Humphries’ favor.
- Smith was competing after a reported back spasm earlier in the week and was seen scratching his forehead with a dart point, drawing blood according to on-air commentary.
- Humphries had already hit a nine-darter earlier in the event, and Luke Littler continues his campaign in Saturday’s remaining quarter-finals.