Luke Humphries makes early exit from Grand Slam of Darts
Transgender player Noa-Lynn van Leuven also bowed out of the tournament.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Defending champion Luke Humphries crashed out of the Grand Slam of Darts following a second straight defeat in the group stages.
Humphries lost 5-3 to Rowby-John Rodriguez on the opening day and the world champion was beaten by the same score by James Wade on Sunday to ensure he cannot advance from Group A.
“What can I say.. gutted to be out of the Grand Slam,” Humphries wrote on social media after the match.
“Just wasn’t me up on that stage this week, but I’ve had other things on my mind and it makes it so much harder to perform at this level, looking forward to getting back to my son who’s not been well the past few days!”
Transgender player Noa-Lynn van Leuven also bowed out of the tournament after suffering her second consecutive defeat.
Van Leuven, who transitioned in 2021, created history on Saturday by becoming the first trans player to compete in a televised PDC tournament against men, losing 5-0 to three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
And, although the 28-year-old won the first two legs of her second Group G clash against Ryan Joyce, she ultimately slipped to a 5-3 loss in Wolverhampton.
Van Leuven, who has also qualified for next month’s World Championship, hit finishes of 64 and 72 to take a 2-0 lead but missed nine darts at a double in the third leg before Joyce finally hit double eight.
That proved to be a turning point in the match as Joyce hit a 110 checkout to level the scores on his way to a vital win following his heavy defeat to Gary Anderson on day one.
Anderson beat Van Gerwen 5-4 to reach the last 16, with Luke Littler also advancing thanks to a dominant 5-1 victory over Dimitri Van den Bergh in Group F.