World No. 2 Luke Humphries survived a scare against German Gabriel Clemens before booking his place in the fourth round of the World Championship.
The 2024 champion was almost taken to a deciding set after a stunning fightback from Clemens at Alexandra Palace but held his nerve to edge through 4-2 on Sunday.
There was no hint of the drama to come as Humphries eased through the opening two sets and then took a tight third.
Yet a brilliant 125 checkout — bull, 25, bull — from Clemens in that third set sparked a revival which saw the underdog pull it back to 3-2.
At 2-2 in the sixth set Clemens then had three darts to level the match but he was unable to take them and Humphries capitalised to finish the job.
He celebrated victory with a huge roar of relief, leaving Clemens — who averaged 101.49 — to reflect on what might have been.
Humphries told Sky Sports: “When I had that double to go 3-0 up I thought I had control and I don’t feel like I dropped off.
“Gabriel got a lot better and really made me work hard for it. If that double hadn’t gone in and it had been 3-3… I’m panicking.
“For me to get that double — you’ve seen the celebration there at the end — it means a lot. That could be the difference between being a two-time world champion and not.”
A crowd including Tottenham Hotspur‘s James Maddison and Ryder Cup golfers Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton also saw three-time world champion Michael Van Gerwen beat Arno Merk 4-1.
The Dutchman, who averaged 99.7, produced some of his best play at the tournament so far as he overcame the in-form German to set up a clash with Scottish veteran Gary Anderson.
Van Gerwen later claimed he had not been challenged and still had plenty of room for improvement.
He said: “Was it a contest? Not for me. I played too well today [for] him. We all know what he is capable of but I played good today.
“I think I had more in my power if I wanted to but I didn’t need it. Overall I think I played an OK game.”
Elsewhere, Dutchman Gian Van Veen underlined his credentials with a 4-1 win over Madars Razma of Latvia.
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Earlier On Sunday, two-time champion Anderson, 55, maintained his impressive form by holding his nerve in the deciding set to beat Jermaine Wattimena 4-3.
Dutchman Wattimena saved four match darts in total, while Anderson missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish in the decider before sealing a thrilling win.
Rob Cross, another past winner, thrashed Damon Heta 4-0 to book a date with reigning champion Luke Littler while Devon’s Ryan Searle beat German No. 1 Martin Schindler 4-0.
