Luke Humphries is dumped OUT in the Group Stage – 2024 Grand Slam of Darts Day 2 Review

In a staggering upset, the reigning Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts champion Luke Humphries was sent packing in the Group Stage on Day 2 in Wolverhampton. Elsewhere, young talents Luke Littler and Gian van Veen hit monster averages yet again.

Group A

Both Mansell and Rodriguez were the surprise winners in the first round of results and it was Mickey Mansell who doubled his points tally with a really solid performance over the World Cup finalist to book his spot in the knockouts on debut.

One of either James Wade or Luke Humphries would be out of the Grand Slam at the end of this game and it was the reigning champion who raced into a 2-0 lead but squandered opportunities for 3-0 and in the blink of an eye it was 2-2. The World Champion hit a clutch 130 checkout to regain the lead but Wade hung in there to dump the World Champion out in the group stage and set up a straight shootout between him and Rowby-John Rodriguez to progress.

Group B

Danny Noppert kicked off the afternoon session with a brilliant deciding leg win over Cameron Menzies to make it 2 wins from 2 in Group B, pinning a 170 checkout in leg 5 of this encounter.

In a battle of the game one losers in Group B, it was Martin Schindler who swept past an underwhelming Beau Greaves 5-1 to pick up a crucial two points and a favourable leg advantage.

Group C

In a very scrappy affair, it was the American ace Leonard Gates who picked up his first ever Grand Slam win to extend Peter Wright’s woes. Both players averaged 83 but it was Gates who held his own to win 5-4 and give himself a lifeline in the group stage.

Martin Lukeman was 3-0 down averaging 69 against Rob Cross and it looked like one way traffic and yet another qualification out the group in the Slam for Voltage. Nobody saw what was to come as Smash reeled off 5 straight legs to stun Cross and put himself in the hotseat for a place in the Last 16.

Group D

Dave Chisnall’s back injury woes continued as he was brushed aside by the 2022 European Champion Ross Smith 5-2. TV form continues to evade Chizzy as he was confirmed as the first player to be knocked out of this years Grand Slam with a game to spare.

Both Edhouse and Scutt put in magnificent performances on Day 1 but both failed to replicate that standard in a mid 80s affair. It was Edhouse though who got over the line to seal his spot in the Last 16 and set up a last game shootout between Ross Smith and Connor Scutt to see who reaches the knockout stages.

Group E

It was back-to-back 5-2 losses for Mensur Suljovic as he was defeated by the newly crowned Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in a game in which both players underperformed.

Michael Smith was the champion in Wolverhampton two years ago so is defending a large chunk of ranking money this week, his opponent, Jermaine Wattimena was looking to punish Bully Boy and send him down the rankings and he did so in emphatic fashion. Wattimena missed five match darts for a whitewash but the 2023 World Champion was destroyed 5-1 to put his back right up against the wall in the race for qualification. Smith will play De Decker to see who joins Wattimena in the Last 16.

Group F

Keane Barry and Lourence Ilagen kicked the evening off with a 100% record on the doubles after 3 legs, Ilagen however had one off leg in the 7th and Barry punished to keep his faint hopes of making it out the group alive.

Luke Littler was out of this world in his opening game against Keane Barry, averaging above the 112 mark, and was looking to maintain that ridiculously high standard. Littler burst into a strong lead, keeping up the 110+ average which has become synonymous with The Nuke. Van den Bergh managed to get a solitary leg but it was Littler who won 5-1 with a 108 average.

Group G

Noa-Lynn van Leuven raced into a 2-0 lead but missed countless doubles to extend her lead to 3, Joyce didn’t let this go unpunished as he got a foot hold back in the game and eventually got over the line 5-3 in a scrappy tie.

Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson were both looking to capitalise on the demise of Humphries, the pair played out a brilliant encounter with The Flying Scotsman taking the match in a thrilling last leg. That win puts Anderson through with MvG now having to have a faceoff with Ryan Joyce to advance further.

Group H

Wessel Nijman yet again averaged north of 105 but yet again failed to win, Josh Rock rallied from 3-1 down to break the heart of the 24 year-old and put his name back in the mix for group qualification.

The performance of the afternoon was left until last as Gian Van Veen once again excelled on the Grand Slam stage. Van Veen wired Double 18 for a 9-Darter in Leg 2 before pinning an unorthodox 133 checkout on two Double 19s to take a quick 4-0 lead over Stephen Bunting. The young Dutch ace secured a sensational 114.71 average in the end, the third highest in the tournaments history, running out a 5-1 winner over the Bullet.

2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts

Day 2 – Group Stage

Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton

Group B

Danny Noppert 5-4 Cameron Menzies

Martin Schindler 5-1 Beau Greaves

Group C

Peter Wright 4-5 Leonard Gates

Rob Cross 3-5 Martin Lukeman

Group D

Dave Chisnall 2-5 Ross Smith

Ritchie Edhouse 5-2 Connor Scutt

Group H

Josh Rock 5-3 Wessel Nijman

Stephen Bunting 1-5 Gian van Veen

Evening Session

Group A

Mickey Mansell 5-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez

Luke Humphries 3-5 James Wade

Group E

Mike De Decker 5-2 Mensur Suljovic

Michael Smith 1-5 Jermaine Wattimena

Group F

Keane Barry 5-3 Lourence Ilagen

Dimitri van den Bergh 1-5 Luke Littler

Group G

Ryan Joyce 5-3 Noa-Lynn van Leuven

Michael van Gerwen 4-5 Gary Anderson