World Grand Prix

The 26th edition of the World Grand Prix was held in Leicester from 2 to 8 October. Luke Humphries won a major title for the first time in his career after beating Gerwyn Price in the final.

The tournament starts with four Dutch players, but only one remains after the first round. Dirk van Duijvenbode lost 2-1 to Brendan Dolan in the opening match of the tournament, while on the same evening Raymond van Barneveld loses to Martin Schindler with the same numbers and Danny Noppert loses against Gerwyn Price (2-0). Michael van Gerwen manages to win his first match: the title holder beats Josh Rock 2-0.

The first round immediately has several surprises: Luke Woodhouse wins 2-0 against former finalist Dave Chisnall, European champion Ross Smith wins 2-0 against Jonny Clayton and Stephen Bunting beats the World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall with 2-1. UK Open champion Andrew Gilding has a difficult but good win against Rob Cross, while Luke Humphries wins 2-0 against Daryl Gurney.

In the second round, Humphries will meet Luke Woodhouse. All sets end in 3-2, but always for Humphries (3-0). Michael van Gerwen plays an exciting match against Chris Dobey, in which the Masters champion proves too strong 3-2 after a 156 finish for the match. Gilding beats Gary Anderson 3-2 and Gerwyn Price advanced to the quarter-finals, thanks to a 3-0 win over Krzysztof Ratajski.

There are no more Dutch players in the top eight. As many as five Englishmen will compete for a place in the semi-finals. Including world champion Michael Smith: he beat Gilding 3-0 and takes a place in the last four. Price (against Schindler) also managed to win 3-0. The battles between Joe Cullen and Chris Dobey and between Luke Humphries and Peter Wright are exciting. Both matches go to a deciding set, but it is Cullen and Humphries (after trailing 2-0 in sets) who advance to the semi-finals.

In the end it will be a final between an Englishman and a Welshman: Luke Humphries shows no mercy to Joe Cullen and beats his compatriot 4-0. Gerwyn Price wins the match against Michael Smith 4-2, making him in the final for the third time in four years.

The final will be a victory for Luke Humphries: 'Cool Hand' falls behind 1-0, but then takes three sets in a row (3-1). Despite a 170 finish, he loses the fifth set, but he manages to win the next two sets in a deciding leg. He ends the match with a 138 finish and thus takes the biggest title of his career. In addition, he is in the top four in the world for the first time (place 4).