Goodbye dream final: Co-favorite Luke Humphries surprisingly did not follow defending champion Luke Littler into the semi-finals at the Darts World Championship in London on Thursday evening. Gian van Veen wins surprisingly clearly.
Humphries lost 1:5 in the quarterfinals to European champion and junior world champion Gian Van Veen. The world number two was once again left behind in a high-class duel with his feared opponent: Van Veen had already won the last four duels. The Dutchman will face two-time world champion Gary Anderson from Scotland in the semi-finals on Friday.
Van Veen: “That’s crazy”
With an average of 105.41 points, a finish rate of 55.17 percent and a “big fish”, the highest possible finish for 170 points, van Veen played great. “That’s crazy“, said the young darts professional after his sensational victory over Humphries. In fact, with the victory against the favored Englishman, the 23-year-old not only reached the semi-finals, but also reached several milestones.
With the 200,000 pounds in prize money he has now earned, the up-and-coming van Veen has moved up to third place in the world rankings – and is now just ahead of the already eliminated Michael van Gerwen.
Van Veen’s respectful words to van Gerwen
“I don’t see it that way. Of course, I’m number three in the world at the moment, which feels totally crazy if you even say it“, he said on DAZN, but: “I know what Michael has accomplished over the last 13 years. For me it will always feel like Michael is number one in the Netherlands. No matter what the rankings say.”
World number one Luke Littler meets his English compatriot Ryan Searle in the second semi-final. The final for the World Cup crown and the winner’s check of one million pounds will take place on Saturday evening.