Luke Humphries got the better of teenage sensation Luke Littler at the inaugural Swiss Darts Trophy as the world No 1 reached the quarter-finals on Sunday.
The third and final day of the year’s penultimate European Tour event saw the remaining 16 players in action.
Humphries made it into the last eight after pinning six out of 13 doubles, and averaging 95.20 to defeat 17-year-old Littler 6-3 in Basel and set up a meeting with Josh Rock.
The clash was a repeat of the 2024 PDC World Championship and Premier League final.
‘The Nuke’ had beaten Humphries six times following his defeat at Alexandra Palace in January – including victory at London’s O2 at the Premier League Play-Offs.
But ‘Cool Hand’ has now got the better of the Warrington star at the European Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, Germany, New Zealand Darts Masters and now victory in Switzerland.
Rock kicked off the afternoon with an excellent display, beating Rob Cross 6-4 averaging 102.54.
Raymond van Barneveld rattled off four legs on the spin to beat Ross Smith 6-4 and make his first European Tour quarter-final of 2024, while James Wade showed his wealth of experience as he broke Wessel Nijman’s throw late on to beat the young Dutchman 6-4.
Schindler seals Swiss success with epic comeback
Schindler survived seven missed match darts to win the inaugural Swiss Darts Trophy
Rock crushed world champion Humphries 6-1 in the opening match of the evening session as Martin Schindler landed a 160 checkout to dump out Van Barneveld 6-4.
Searle made it nine straight wins over Daryl Gurney to progress, with Callan Rydz sweeping aside Wade.
German star Schindler secured a 7-2 demolition of Rock with a 140 checkout with Ryan Searle reaching the final with a 7-1 demolition of Rydz.
In the final, Schindler, nicknamed ‘The Wall’, recovered from 7-4 down and survived seven missed match darts from Searle to snatch an 8-7 victory and seal his second European Tour title of the year.
“It’s just one of those things, I bottled it a bit,” admitted Searle. “That’s the way darts goes sometimes; for me it’s a case of onto the next one.
“I’ve been in this position before where I’ve thrown games away and I’ve come back stronger, so I’ll be looking to respond in the same way again.”
2024 Swiss Darts Trophy
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Josh Rock 6-4 Rob Cross
Luke Humphries 6-3 Luke Littler
Martin Schindler 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Ross Smith
Callan Rydz 6-5 Cameron Menzies
James Wade 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Ryan Searle 6-2 Madars Razma
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Evening Session
Quarter-Finals
Josh Rock 6-1 Luke Humphries
Martin Schindler 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Callan Rydz 6-2 James Wade
Ryan Searle 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Semi-Finals
Martin Schindler 7-2 Josh Rock
Ryan Searle 7-1 Callan Rydz
Final
Martin Schindler 8-7 Ryan Searle
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A look back at the best of the action from a thrilling World Grand Prix in Leicester
The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is next on the Sky Sports darting calendar.
The annual £600,000 tournament will take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete for the coveted title which was won by Luke Humphries.
Humphries celebrated his maiden TV ranking title with victory over Gerwyn Price in last year’s tournament, and the world No 1 will return to defend his title later this year.
Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also set to star, with teenage superstar Luke Littler poised to make his double-start debut in the East Midlands.
In a change to last year’s format, Saturday’s semi-finals on October 12 will be contested over the best of nine sets, with the final set to be played over the best of 11 sets on Sunday, October 13.
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