Defending World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall survived a big scare to stumble over the line in the first round in Blackpool.
Aspinall struggled with an ongoing elbow injury, which he suffered two months ago in the Premier League Darts, as he beat Luke Woodhouse 10-8 on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old will have surgery after the tournament and was an early break down to his opponent, before going from 3-2 down to 6-3 up.
However, Woodhouse got back to 6-6 before the next four legs were shared and both players showed clear signs of nerves as the quality dipped.
Woodhouse narrowly failed to check out 138 at 8-8 and Aspinall punished him with D20 then held his throw to keep his title defence alive.
The Asp will face Danny Noppert or James Wade in the next round.
Humphries delivers statement victory
Fresh from winning the World Cup of Darts with Michael Smith, Luke Humphries showed why he is the player to beat with a sensational 10-4 win over Ricardo Pietreczko.
The pair last met at the World Championship in December, where Humphries needed to fight back in order to overcome the German.
This time though, the world No 1 was in top form as he averaged 108.76, the highest average at the World Matchplay for three years.
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Luke Humphries fires his way into the World Matchplay second round with a statement 10-4 win over Ricardo Pietreczko.
Pietreczko also averaged over a tonne but couldn’t do anything about the flying Humphries, who quickly turned a 6-3 lead into a 10-4 win.
“Since the World Cup, my practice has gone back to normal,” said Humphries.
“I finally have that practice regime where I’m practising more. The week building up to this, it felt really good but it doesn’t always happen on the stage when you feel good. Tonight it was absolutely fantastic. I felt a million dollars.
“The doubles were going in, the scoring was good but I had to [be good]. Ricardo was fantastic. A lot of people had written him off before I played him. If I didn’t play the way I did then I would have lost, so I’m really proud of the way I played.”
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Jonny Clayton opens up about his mindset heading into the World Matchplay at the Winter Gardens after he defeated Raymond van Barneveld in the first round.
Impressive Price and Clayton sees off Van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price had an impressive 10-4 win over Daryl Gurney in his first televised match since withdrawing from the World Cup for medical reasons.
Price went 4-1 up but was pulled back to 5-4 by Gurney. However, the Welshman won six legs in a row and let out his traditional big roar to show he will be a player to watch over the next week in Blackpool.
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Gerwyn Price takes a 4-1 lead in his first-round World Matchplay tie against Daryl Gurney, thanks to this brilliant 130 on the bullseye.
“It was good to see those reactions from Price. We haven’t seen him like that for a while,” said Sky Sports‘ Wayne Mardle.
“I want to see him play like that and react like that. That’s him and that’s his passion for it.
“He’s such a nice guy but doesn’t look relaxed at the moment. But, that’s the most I’ve seen him relaxed for a while.”
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Gerwyn Price is the first player into the second round of the World Matchplay Darts with a dominant 10-4 win over Daryl Gurney.
Jonny Clayton beat Raymond van Barneveld in the other match of the opening night at the Winter Gardens.
Clayton took a 7-3 lead as Van Barneveld couldn’t take his chances, but the Dutchman found his rhythm after the second interval and got back to 7-6.
Just when it looked like Van Barneveld might make a comeback, Clayton refound his doubles form and went on to win 10-7.
What’s happening on Sunday at the World Matchplay?
Due to the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain, Sunday’s sessions have been moved forward to 12pm and 4.30pm – live on Sky Sports Action
The first session features 2020 Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh as he takes on Germany’s Martin Schindler.
Danny Noppert and James Wade meet in an eagerly-anticipated first-round match, with crowd favourite Stephen Bunting rounding out the afternoon against Ryan Joyce.
After a short break, the action resumes at 4.30pm with former world champion Rob Cross versus Gian van Veen.
Peter Wright faces Andrew Gilding and Dave Chisnall also plays in a hectic day of darts in Blackpool.
The World Matchplay continues on Sunday with two sessions at 12pm and 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports Action. Get instant access to the entire World Matchplay for £26 with NOW.
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