World Darts Championship: Luke Humphries thrashes Paul Lim in second round as Gian van Veen, Nathan Aspinall also win
World No 2 Luke Humphries completely dominated Paul Lim in the second round as Gian van Veen and Nathan Aspinall also won on Monday night; watch the conclusion of the second-round matches at the World Darts Championship from 12.30pm and 7pm, live on Sky Sports Darts
Monday 22 December 2025 23:38, UK
Luke Humphries thrashed Paul Lim 3-0 with a dominant display in the second round of the World Darts Championship on Monday night.
Humphries lost just one leg to the 71-year-old Lim, who never looked like threatening his opponent in a one-sided contest.
World No 2 Humphries' averaged 109 in the opening two sets which dropped to 97 by the end of the match as he showed glimpses of the form which made him world champion in 2024.
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"I had to come out and fight him because the crowd were going to be on his side, I knew that," Humphries, who will play Germany's Gabriel Clemens in the third round, told Sky Sports Darts.
"When I went 2-0 up, everything was going well. Obviously the third set wasn't as great, but I kind of didn't want to destroy him 9-0. That wasn't really what I wanted to happen, I wanted to win 3-0 in sets, but I'm glad he got a leg in the end there.
"I thought he played alright in the first two sets. I was just really clinical in my scoring and finishing."
Humphries came out of the blocks flying and only gave Lim one dart at a double in the entire first set, breaking the 'Singapore Slinger' twice.
The former world champion continued his dominance in the second set as Lim was simply unable to match the scoring of Humphries which Sky Sports Darts' Mark Webster described as "ruthless".
However, Humphries' level dropped in the third set and Lim was able to get a leg on the board to the enjoyment of the crowd and Humphries himself, with the pair embracing after that leg.
It was just a consolation though as Humphries kept his foot down and held throw to win the last set 3-1 and ensure he got revenge for his defeat to Lim at the World Championship five years ago.
"It was just a pleasure to play him again, I'm a fan of his, unfortunately he played against me and I had business to do tonight," said Humphries.
"That was the most amazing atmosphere I've ever been a part of, when they were calling his name out, it was the loudest I've ever heard."
Van Veen with statement win as Aspinall also victorious
Gian van Veen underlined his status as one of the dark horses for the tournament with the highest average of the World Championship so far (108.28) as he beat Scotland's Alan Soutar 3-1.
Van Veen made a slow start as he lost the opening set, then Soutar missed one dart to win the second set which proved to be the key turning point of the match.
From there, it was all about the 23-year-old Dutchman as he won the next six legs, including a teasing finish at the 'Big Fish' (170), to set up a match against Latvia's Madars Razma who saw off Scotland's Darren Beveridge earlier on Monday.
Van Veen told Sky Sports Darts: "If I continue like this the whole tournament, I can go really far. I'm happy to be back after Christmas."
Fan favourite Nathan Aspinall whitewashed Leonard Gates 3-0 despite the American's pre-match antics by trying to scare his opponent with a Chewbacca mask in the practice room.
Aspinall was far from his best but won each of his three sets 3-1 and will play Kevin Doets in the third round after the Dutchman ended Kenya's David Munyua's World Championship campaign with a 3-0 victory.
England's Charlie Manby continued to impress in a dominant 3-0 win over American Adam Seveda, dropping just one leg.
Manby, 20, will play Ricky Evans in the third round after he beat James Wade in a thrilling deciding set tie-break, winning the last set 6-4.
What's next?
Day 13 on Tuesday at the World Darts Championship sees the second round conclude with two sessions at 12.30pm and 7pm, live on Sky Sports Darts.
New Zealand's Jonny Tata kicks the day off against Ryan Meikle, before Daryl Gurney plays Callan Rydz and Jermaine Wattimena faces Scott Williams. The afternoon session concludes with two-time world champion Peter Wright versus Germany's Arno Merk.
In the evening, tournament dark horse Danny Noppert takes on Justin Good, Gary Anderson plays Connor Scutt, Michael van Gerwen faces William O'Connor in arguably the match of the round, and Josh Rock concludes the night against Joe Comito.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
