Luke Humphries set up a second-round clash with Paul Lim after his 3-1 victory over Ted Evetts at the World Darts Championship.
The world No 2 declared "war" heading into this tournament as he looks to become a two-time world champion and reclaim the world No 1 spot from Luke Littler. He got that task off to the strongest starts with a 98.58 average, 33.33 per cent on the doubles, and eight 180s.
Now he has the prospect of the one and only Lim in the second round. 71-year-old Lim is the oldest ever competitor at a PDC World Darts Championship and now the oldest winner after his opening round win over Jeffrey de Graaf.
The last time Humphries met Lim on this stage was back in 2021 when the 2024 world champion fell to a first round 3-2 loss.
The rematch will see a different Humphries altogether take on Lim with rafts of majors to his name however he knows that the crowd may not be on his side in the battle.
"I was good at the start, I felt really good but then in that third set I fell asleep, to be honest - I maybe relaxed too much," Humphries told Your Site.
"Credit to Ted, he got on me when I wasn't at my best, but I managed to find that special stuff in the end. I'm really pleased with the way I managed to come back.
[On facing Paul Lim in second round]: "It's amazing. He's a legend. The hardest thing for me is that he loves me to bits.
"I talk to Paul a lot and he always says to me, 'you're my favourite player'. It's hard to go and play him - the crowd are going to be against me, so it will be a tough game."
Humphries put on a clinic in the first set as he was walking off the stage with Evetts having barely blinked, a 104.86 average giving him all the momentum as he rattled off three legs on the spin.
Evetts put up a bit more of a fight in the second set but could only take one leg, a sensational 138 checkout asserting Humphries' domination as he extended his lead.
However, Evetts went on to claim the third set and turn what looked like a procession for Humphries into a real contest, 'Cool Hand' suddenly finding his scoring out of nowhere as T20s landed to clinch the fourth set and set up the Lim rematch everyone has been waiting for.
Lim lived up to his legendary status and pulled off a Christmas miracle as he battled to a 3-1 victory over Jeffrey de Graaf.
He came out to rapturous support from the crowd and with that, Alexandra Palace willed in every dart he threw.
That helped in the first set as Lim broke De Graaf's throw in the opening leg and then held his nerve to clean up on D4 for the 1-0 lead. However, De Graaf then found his maximum hitting to level things up quickly.
That did not deter the 'Singapore Slinger' as he found some clutch visits once again, a break of throw plus a 100 checkout moving him 2-1 ahead.
His strong finishing took the Ally Pally noise to new heights and after holding his throw twice, Lim fired in 56 on tops to wrap up a monumental victory 43 years on from his world championship debut in his 27th championship.
"First and foremost, I'm thankful to be here and I'm thankful to this crowd behind me. Just to make it here is an achievement.
"No matter how good you are, there are times where you can miss a shot, and you've just got to take advantage.
"I just took the advantage and I'm glad."
"Luke Humphries, I've been watching the last few years and he puts so much effort and time into what he's doing.
"He's a good guy, a gentleman and a great player. I just hope on a given day it can happen again. He's good but can be beaten."
Wessel Nijman put his 2025 form into practice with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Karel Sedlacek.
In the first set the 31st seed came out firing with a phenomenal 111.17 average in what is the best set so far in this worlds, his power scoring setting him apart along with his doubling, leaving Sedlacek no room for manoeuvre.
The second set then just saw Nijman keep his opponent at arms length with maximums flowing and his doubling on point, breaks of throw the key to the third set as he pinned D12 to book his spot in round two.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Clemens cantered to a 3-0 win over Alex Spellman, his Big Fish in the opening set the highlight from the 2023 semi-finalist who took out a remarkable eight legs on the spin.
Two-time world champion Gary Anderson survived a huge scare as 'The Flying Scotsman' recovered from 2-1 down to deny Adam Hunt in a deciding set with the aid of six 180s and two Shanghai checkouts.
It was a thumbs up for Andrew Gilding who averaged 97.9 and landed a magnificent 161 checkout in overcoming debutant Cam Crabtree.
The former UK Open champion dispatched Crabtree 3-1 as he looks to land a career best run at Alexandra Palace.
David Davies sealed a superb debut win against Mario Vandenbogaerde in straight sets to set up a mouth-watering clash against world No 1 Luke Littler.
The Welshman, who is an area manager for the NHS and has had to take annual leave to be at Alexandra Palace, is now guaranteed £25,000 for reaching the second round.
Davies was in bullish mood ahead of his clash with Littler on Sunday, December 21: "I am going to be the underdog in every game I play, but I deserve to be here."
Luke Woodhouse, who reached the last 16 at last year's tournament, recovered from losing the opening set to win nine out of the next 12 legs against Boris Krcmar.
Sunday December 14 at the World Darts Championship sees another bumper double session day of action live on Your Site Darts.
In the afternoon session from 12.30pm we see Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata, Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak, Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar, and Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks.
In the evening, from 7pm, we then have Lukas Wenig up against Wesley Plaisier, Dimitri Van den Bergh playing Darren Beveridge, Stephen Bunting facing Sebastian Bialecki, and James Hurrell vs Stowe Buntz
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Your Site' dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). .
