Reigning champion Luke Humphries got his World Darts Championship defense off to a flying start with a 3-0 win over Thibault Tricole at Alexandra Palace, winning nine legs in a row.
Humphries rocked the whitewash in double time and celebrated with the crowd as he did just what he needed to do as a defender on opening night.
The world No 1 took the first set 3-0 without getting out of first gear but then came alive in the second with a sensational 160 checker on top in the second leg.
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Luke Humphries completes 160 as he looks to cruise to victory against Thibault Tricole.
Tricole was gifted moments with 'Cool Hand' but could not win the chances and with Humphries 2-0 up after winning six legs in a row, victory felt close.
With Tricole's finish continuing to fail her, hitting 0 per cent on the doubles after eight legs, Humphries completed a comprehensive win on D10.
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Luke Humphries takes in the crowd as he walks forward before his first match of the 2025 World Darts Championship against Thibault Tricole to begin the defense of his title.
Tricole set up the tie with the world No. 1 by defeating Joe Comito 3-1 in the opening match of the tournament.
The Frenchman won the first set of the tournament 3-1 after a break point put him under control and then raced to three legs in a row for the second set.
However, Comito fought back to take the game to 2-1 and made Tricole's battle tough, the 'French Touch' finally giving D16 the leg for the game.
Keane Barry produced an impressive 3-1 victory over former semi-finalist Kim Huybrechts in a thrilling encounter.
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Keane Barry completes back-to-back two-plus tons to put pressure on his Belgian opponent Kim Huybrechts in his opening match of the 2025 World Championship of Darts.
After Huybrechts took the first set and let out a roar, Barry stayed calm and composed, firing in a brilliant 108 finish to take the second set in the deciding leg to to tie the game 1-1.
From there, Barry found a new level and was hitting 180s for fun, taking the third set in quick fashion and in control of the match.
Huybrechts kept going back but Barry had too much scoring to handle and with a crucial throw break, he took a big win on the biggest stage of all and will now face 2021 champion Gerwyn Price in the second round.
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Luke Humphries says his rival Luke Littler is pushing him to improve as he looks back on a brilliant 2024.
Jermaine Wattimena set up a second-round trial with James Wade after dismantling Stefan Bellmont in a 3-0 whitewash.
Wattimena finished clinically with an average of 98.54, a roof top finishing best as he showed once again why he can cause a bit of an upset in this tournament.
“I'm really happy. I was so nervous in the first set and I'm just happy that the doubles went in,” said Wattimena Sky Sports.
“I'm very confident and I want to go through and I want to run gfood at the Worlds.
“I play James Wade tomorrow and I'm ready for it.”
What next?
We have a great day coming your way on Monday December 16 with an afternoon session from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Darts and a Main Event with Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto, Luke Woodhouse v Lawrence Ilagan, Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt, and James Wade plays the winner of Wattimena and Bellmont.
We are then back from 7pm for a great afternoon session with Niels Zonneveld vs Robert Owen, Connor Scutt vs Ben Robb, Cameron Menzies vs Leonard Gates, and Gerwyn Price vs Huybrechts and Barry.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch all the matches live exclusively from 15 December to 3 January on Sky Sports' exclusive darts channel. Stream darts and more sports favorites with NOW.
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