Defending champion Luke Humphries stunned by emotional Peter Wright in major upset

Two-time former winner Wright turned the formbook upside down

Peter Wright celebrates victory over the two-time champion (Getty Images)

Reigning champion Luke Humphries was knocked out of the World Darts Championship by an inspired Peter Wright in a major upset at Alexandra Palace.

Two-time former champion Wright turned the formbook upside down to stun big favourite Humphries, who was well below par in a 4-1 defeat.

Wright, 54, who lifted the crown in 2020 and 2022, fought back the tears after a convincing win in which he averaged nearly 101 and hit 70 per cent of his doubles.

After producing a 12-dart break to open up a 3-1 lead, Wright kept his foot to the floor, making back-to-back 13-dart finishes and then a 14-darter to close out the match in stunning fashion.

The world number 17 said afterwards: “Luke gave me a load of chances there, he didn’t play like he can.

“I’ve never had support like this in my life, thank you all. It’s amazing. I’ve been struggling for form all year and it’s so annoying because I know I can still play darts.

“I’ve never experienced anything like [the crowd’s support] in the world. Luckily I wasn’t playing Luke Humphries from last year because he was awesome.”

Former world champion Gerwyn Price earlier became the first man to book his place in the quarter-finals by defeating Jonny Clayton 4-2.

Price, who won the title in 2021, was rarely at his best against his fellow Welshman, racing into a 2-0 lead with an average of 107 before Clayton hit back to level it up at 2-2.

Clayton’s mid-match form then deserted him and Price, the 10th seed, got the job done despite only producing glimpses of his best, which saw him end with an average of 92.28 and a checkout percentage of 36.1.

Callan Rydz produced another brilliant display to book his place in the last 16 by whitewashing Dimitri van den Bergh 4-0.

Newcastle’s world number 43 Rydz has yet to lose a set at the Alexandra Palace and he will now play Robert Owen in the fourth round.

Rydz produced a 12-dart break to open up a 3-0 lead over Belgian world number 11 Van den Bergh, a semi-finalist in 2023, with a 110 average at that stage.

Owen, a part-time delivery driver from Bridgend and 77th in the world rankings, secured the biggest win of his career to beat Ricky Evans 4-2.

A seesaw battle tilted Owen’s way after Evans had missed two darts to go 3-1 up and the Welshman took full advantage, landing 140 on 20 occasions to win the final three sets.

Dutchman Kevin Doets produced a thrilling comeback to beat Krzysztof Ratajski 4-3 to set up a fourth-round match with 15th seed Chris Dobey.

World number 81 Jeffrey de Graaf will play third seed Michael van Gerwen in the last 16 after beating Filipino Paolo Nebrida 4-1.

Dutch-born Swede De Graaf sealed his place in the fourth round for the first time with a 10-dart finish in the final leg.