Luke Humphries defeated Nathan Aspinall in Wolverhampton, securing his advancement to the knockout stage of the Grand Slam of Darts.
Humphries, the top seed, maintained a perfect record in Group A with a dominant performance, averaging 102.62. aspinall’s elimination comes despite a strong showing, averaging 100.01 and hitting five 180s.
Michael Smith also progressed from Group A, finishing second after a 5-2 win against Alex Spellman of the United states.
Humphries will next face Jurjen van der Velde of the Netherlands in the second round, which begins on Wednesday.
In group B, Chris Dobey topped the standings with a 5-1 victory over Martin Lukeman, despite an average of 81, and will face 2023 world champion Michael Smith in the next round.
Wales’ Gerwyn Price won Group D after a 5-1 win against Stefan Bellmont of Switzerland, coinciding with Ricky Evans’ 5-2 loss to James Wade of England.
Stephen Bunting, already eliminated, suffered a 5-4 defeat to Group C winner Luke Woodhouse, marking his third consecutive loss in a deciding leg.
Martin Schindler of Germany advanced after defeating Alexis Toylo of the Philippines 5-2.
The remaining group stage matches will be played on Tuesday,with world champion Luke Littler already qualified for the second round.
