Gian van Veen pulled off a shock upset and dumped out reigning champion Luke Humphries with a 10-8 victory on the opening night of the World Matchplay 2025 at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.

As expected, it was a close contest between the top seed and the reigning Youth World Champion with 180s being thrown for fun, but it was Humphries who took a tight 3-2 lead early on with a staggering 146 checkout.

Van Veen continued to show his mettle in what was a drama-filled contest that saw breaks of throw and high-speed scoring. The pair went in at 5-5 after two sessions, with doubling costing Humphries as he threw away some key opportunities.

With the outer ring continuing to bother ‘Cool Hand’, who ended the match with just a 29 per cent success rate on the doubles and 20 doubles missed, the crucial moment came in the 15th leg as he missed three darts at D5 which allowed Van Veen to pounce for a crucial break of throw and 8-7 lead.

From there, the young rising star held his throw tremendously and clinched the match on D4 for a landmark win.

“I know I have done quite a lot in my career but at this point, this feels like the biggest win of my career,” Van Veen told Sky Sports following his win.

“Finally, I hit that winning double and as I said, it was the biggest win of my career.

“Even though it was 6-6, 7-7, I felt the underdog so I was just happy I could keep up with him.

“Then at the end, I got some chances, he misses three darts at D5 and I took my chance.

“I am so happy with this win – to beat such a phenomenal player like Luke.

“He even said after the game ‘I hope you have a great run because you really deserve it’.

“He is such a great champion, he is such a great guy. I am just over the moon.”

In the second round, Van Veen will face fellow Dutchman Danny Noppert who came up with a 10-2 demolition of Cameron Menzies.

Noppert got off to a flying start against Menzies who struggled on his Matchplay debut. A poor bust of 178 knocked the Scotsman’s focus in the fourth leg while Noppert soared through the first five legs for a mighty 5-0 lead.

The onslaught of pressure from Noppert continued and Menzies was not able to fire anywhere near enough back at the Dutchman as he trailed 8-2 after the second session, a 13-darter then break of throw booking Noppert’s spot in the second round.

In the opening match of the World Matchplay 2025, James Wade pulled off a resounding 10-3 win over Joe Cullen with his highest ever average, a 104.4, on the Winter Gardens stage in his 20th consecutive appearance.

Wade took hold of the contest early on with what was a staggering 108 average in the first session, three breaks of throw and a hold putting him 4-1 up.

The 2007 champion then took his blistering start and converted it into an even better second session. Two more breaks of throw and some incredibly accuracy on the doubles moved him 8-2 into the lead, leaving Cullen without any answers as ‘The Machine’ lived up to his nickname.

While Cullen then managed to pick up his first hold of the encounter, Wade stood firm and saw out the win on D5 with his sixth break of throw.

What’s next at the World Matchplay?

Sunday July 20 sees a double session at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens as the first round continues.

The afternoon session will be live from 1pm on Sky Sports+ with Damon Heta vs Andrew Gilding, Rob Cross vs Dirk van Duijvenbode, Peter Wright vs Jermaine Wattimena, and Dave Chisnall vs Mike De Decker.

The evning session will then be live on Sky Sports+ and Main Event from 7pm, with Gary Anderson facing Luke Woodhouse, Jonny Clayton up against Martin Schindler, Luke Littler playing Ryan Searle, and Stephen Bunting vs Ryan Joyce.

Watch the World Matchplay live on Sky Sports from July 19-27 or stream without a contract.