Humphries sinks Wright as Price and Smith reach World Grand Prix semis
In particular, the match between Peter Wright and Luke Humphries was of a fine standard and had ups and downs for both players.
Gerwyn Price 3-0 Martin Schindler
The first match of the evening was played by world number four Gerwyn Price and number 25 Martin Schindler.
The Welshman had no trouble with the German as he won 3-0.
Price was outstanding on both the double-in and the double-out, not once allowing Schindler his own leg.
Only in the third set did the German take a leg by breaking Price with a 140 and 180.
Price let it go for a very short time, before breaking right back in the fourth leg and deciding the match via tops. The Wall missed several darts on the double to come back in the set.
Those missed doubles in the final leg of the match meant Schindler finished on a paltry 9.09 per cent on checkouts compared to 42.86 per cent for Price, who had a three-dart average of 90.73 compared to 79.77.
Michael Smith 3-0 Andrew Gilding
World number one and world champion Michael Smith followed Price by recording an equally simple win over world number 23 Andrew Gilding.
Again, it was 3-0, and only in the last set was it somewhat exciting.
In the first, Gilding held his first leg but was broken in the next, allowing Smith to take the first set.
In the second set, Smith also broke his British compatriot once, this time delivering a 3-0 set victory.
In set three, Gilding broke Smith in his first leg, although he had also broken before that. It was finely poised at 2-2 and Gilding could throw to make it 2-1 in sets, but Smith still ultimately outplayed him to take the whitewash victory.
However, It was not a match of particular quality: Smith had a three-dart average of 87.69 versus 83.98. On checkouts, he threw 52.94 per cent versus Gilding's 60 per cent.
Peter Wright 2-3 Luke Humphries
The first match of the evening to deliver some genuine excitement was that between world number 3 Peter Wright and number 6 Luke Humphries.
Wright squandered a 2-0 lead and three match darts, leaving Humphries as the third semi-finalist.
Wright grabbed the first two sets through with just one break in the opener. In the third set, he could have thrown for the match with a 170 finish, but he left this first chance unused and Humphries capitalised.
The Scot will long have nightmares about the fourth set, where he missed three match darts on double 10 when it was 2-2, after which Humphries also missed two darts on double 8, but made it 2-2 in sets with the third.
In the deciding set, the Humphries had the advantage of starting the first leg. This advantage proved decisive, as no breaks fell, and after a 2-2, 2-2 leg in which both men threw relatively poorly under pressure, he was the one to prevail.
Humphries had a three-dart average of 92.32 versus Wright's 90.92, and went 46.15 per cent on checkouts versus 39.29 per cent.
Chris Dobey 2-3 Joe Cullen
The last semi-finalist of the World Grand Prix is Joe Cullen as the world number 12 beat number 19 Chris Dobey after another exciting match.
After the first set, Cullen seemed to take control of the momentum through two breaks. In sets two and three, however, it was Dobey who took the upper hand.
In set four, the men exchanged breaks, but Cullen managed to make it 2-2 in sets.
He missed an early break opportunity in the decisive set, but grabbed the next one in the third leg. With a 2-1 lead, he saw Dobey put himself away on 40 for the break, and decided it was time for the high point of the match: he threw out an impressive 121 for the match.
While entertaining, it was not a high-level match. Cullen had a three-dart average of 86.81 versus Dobey's 82.98, and a checkout percentage of 50 against 33.33.
